Oakland, Calif. – Some of the word’s biggest food and beverage companies are spending millions of dollars to defeat California’s Proposition 37, the GMO labeling initiative, claiming it would deceive consumers. Yet federal regulators have forced these companies to remove labels and advertisements on grounds they were deceptive.
“Makers of sugar-laden cereal and soda companies once tried to label their products as beneficial to children’s well-being,” said Ken Cook, president of Environmental Working Group and a California resident. “Federal regulators forced them to drop their bogus health claims. Now these same companies are pouring millions into defeating Prop 37, even though the label would actually be true and useful to consumers who want more information about their food. If their products were made with genetically engineered ingredients, then they’d be labeled as such. No more, no less.”
Watch the latest web ad by Environmental Working Group’s Yes on 37 Committee in support of Prop 37.
Click here: The Real Deceptive Food Label
Until the Federal Trade Commission ordered Kellogg’s to pull its misleading language, the company’s Cocoa Krispies claimed: “Now helps support your child’s immunity”
Nestle marketed a chocolate energy drink for children with a similar bogus boast that it protected kids’ immunity systems.
Diet Coke Plus cans once advertised “vitamins & minerals” until the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ordered those words removed.
Kellogg’s went so far as to plaster one of its frosted mini wheat cereals with a label that said: “Clinically shown to improve kids’ attentiveness by nearly 20 percent.”
To date, Coca-Cola has contributed $1.45 million, Nestle $1.31 million and Kellogg $790,000 to the pesticide and industrial food industry campaign to block Prop 37.
“If you as a Californians would like to know whether some of your food began its life in the laboratory of a chemical company, you should vote yes on Prop 37,” Cook said.
