I've had several clients ask me to help them evaluate the potential effect of California's Proposition 37 on their food businesses. Prop 37, known as the “California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act,” if passed, will make California the first state to require that food manufacturers appropriately label all food that contain ingredients made from genetically modified organisms. Such mandatory labelling is similar to regulations in foreign markets, including the E.U., but would have significant effects here, particularly given how much of our current food would require new labelling (given the prominence of the use of genetically modified soy, corn and sugar beets here in the U.S.) and the "big unknown" – would the U.S. consumer (or the California consumer) reject products with a GM label, and instead opt for products that are not genetically modified, or would there be little effect on their purchasing decisions?
What is "known", in my view, and which I shared in an interview with Law360, is that, if passed, Prop 37 will result in a significant influx in consumer class action litigation against food manufacturers, which is already on the rise (which the New York Times recently featured ). If you have questions about, or need to prepare your business for the potential impact of Prop 37, feel free to contact us.
(Editor's Note: Attorney Steve Kluting authored this post while working in Varnum's Grand Rapids office. Steve is currently with another company.)