Dive Brief:
- GMO mandatory labeling proponents lost in Oregon, with opponents winning out the vote by fewer than 51%.
- The two sides exceeded previous spending records in the state for ballot measures.
- In other election news, Maui County in Hawaii passed a measure banning GMO crop planting, while Colorado said no to GMO labeling by a wider margin than in Oregon. Additionally, Berkeley, CA, passed the country's first soda tax.
Dive Insight:
As Food Dive reported Wednesday morning, some of these votes closed quite narrowly, suggesting future legislation proposals are imminent.
Regarding the soda tax measure, fellow California city San Francisco rejected its own version. Time will tell if Berkeley, CA, will be a trend-setter come future election cycles.