California voters reject mandatory GM labeling (Prop 37)

California voters have rejected Prop 37, which would have required retailers and food companies to label products made with genetically modified ingredients. The measure, which was defeated 53% to 47%, also would have forbidden the use of “natural" in connection with any products that require GM-ingredient labeling.
If California had passed Prop 37, it would have been the first state in the U.S. to pass GMO labeling legislation. China, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, countries in the European Union, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, India and Chile are just a few of the nations that already require GMO foods to be labelled (News Item Food Ingredients First, 8 November 2012).