Labels and the information that they bring to the public are a great resource in efforts to improve health in our communities. From educators teaching grocery shoppers how to read nutrition labels to advocates fighting for calorie labeling on restaurant menus and food safety proponents pushing for traceability along our food chain, public health professionals have been able to use labels as a simple and effective tool to give people knowledge about what they put in their bodies and the power to make choices.

On November 6, Californians will decide on another type of labeling at the polls. Proposition 37, The California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, is a California ballot measure that would require clear labels letting consumers know if foods are genetically modified. A genetically engineered food is a plant or meat product that has had its DNA artificially altered in a laboratory by genes from other plants, animals, viruses, or bacteria in order to produce foreign compounds in that food. Over 50 other countries currently require GMO labeling.

Healthy Farms Healthy People Coalition Steering Committee member organization, the Community Food and Justice Coalition (CFJC), endorsed Pop 37 today, urging their membership to vote yes on the measure. With this endorsement, CFJC joins coalition partner Pesticide Action Network, the Los Angeles City Council, and over 3,500 other health, farming, environmental, labor, and consumer groups, among others.

Major pesticide, chemical, and processed food corporations have led the charge against Prop 37 pouring over $36 million into an advertising campaign that supporters of Prop 37 say is misleading the public.

To learn more about why CFJC is endorsing Prop 37, click here.