Recently filed third-quarter lobbying data shows a big jump in spending for several big names, including Monsanto and the George Soros-affiliated Open Society Policy Center, while other notable spenders from last quarter — including Koch Industries and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — have slowed down their spending, an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics shows.

The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), an organization representing hundreds of food and beverage producers, reported the biggest increase in spending from the previous quarter. The group spent about $7.4 million on federal lobbying from July 1 through Sept. 30, an increase from the second quarter of more than $6.2 million. Through the first three quarters of 2012, the organization spent about $2.6 million compared to a total of $9.3 million so far this year.

The ongoing fight against GMO labeling , which has been heating up on both sides of the country, has been a key concern for the trade group. The organization was recently slapped with a lawsuit over the illegal funds it purportedly donated to defeat a controversial initiative in Washington state that would make GMO labeling mandatory there. The fight is happening on the East Coast as well, as GMA has been lobbying on labeling issues in Congress.

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Other companies that have lobbied on labeling issues are Monsanto and Nestle, both of which made the list of top 10 organizations with the biggest increases in spending, dollarwise. Monsanto, with the sixth-biggest increase, spent $1.4 million in the second quarter of 2013, and $2.4 million in the third quarter. The company spent $4.7 million through the first three quarters of 2012, compared to $5.3 million so far this year. Nestle, which shows the ninth-largest increase between quarters, spent $860,000 in the second quarter and $1.6 million in the third.

The second-largest hike in spending from last quarter came from the Open Society Policy Center, an organization affiliated with George Soros, which increased spending by more than $2.6 million — up from $1.2 million in the second quarter to $3.9 million in the third. The organization has spent $6.8 million so far this year, a huge jump over the $1.2 million it spent through the first three quarters of 2012. Among the issues it lobbied on in the third quarter were the appointments of various key political figures, including Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake, who was recently nominated by President Obama to be ambassador to Indonesia. If George Soros is closely tied to liberal causes, the other end of the spectrum is represented by Charles and David Koch, the wealthy libertarian billionaires who control Koch Industries. That company made the list of top 10 biggest declines in lobbying spending between quarters, measured by dollars spent. In the second quarter the company spent $3.2 million on federal lobbying, and in the third quarter just $2.1 million. That’s the lowest quarterly figure for the company since the third quarter of 2011, when it spent $1.5 million.

Below is the list of top 10 organizations making the biggest and smallest increases in spending by quarter:

— Russ Choma contributed to this post.





Image: An anti-GMO protester in Oregon earlier this month. Photo: Alex Milan Tracy/NurPhoto/Sipa USA (Sipa via AP Images)



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