WA State Attorney General Files Suit Against GMA

Today, Washington State’s Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed suit against the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), big food’s national lobby group representing brands like General Mills, Kellogg’s, Kraft and Pepsico, for violating the state’s campaign disclosure laws. Ferguson alleges that GMA, the largest contributor to the ‘No on 522’ campaign, illegally collected and spent a sum of $7.2 million to defeat Washington’s GE labeling initiative, while hiding the identity of its contributors.

“It’s time these companies listen to consumers, and support full transparency when it comes to genetically engineered ingredients,” said Scott Faber, executive director of Just Label It. “Consumers deserve the right to know what they’re eating and feeding their families.”

Just Label It launched a petition in August 2013 targeting many of the GMA’s members, demanding that Monsanto, General Mills, Kellogg’s, Kraft, Pepsico and 60 other major food and chemical companies stop trying to keep Americans in the dark about which products contain genetically engineered ingredients. The petition has collected more than 100,000 signatures to date.

Polls show that more than 90% of American consumers want to know about the food they’re eating, a right held by citizens in 64 countries around the world that already require mandatory labeling of GE foods.