At yesterday's chapter leader meeting out here in California at the annual Wise Traditions conference there was a lot of talk about the defeat of Prop 37. One person said this has taught us that we can't expect to win just because we're on the side of what's right and good.
(Before you read the post below, you may first want to read a basic GMO definition here.)
Pamm Larry shared some campaign afterthoughts with us – see the video below. She acknowledged that we need to have a mourning period over this, yes, but everyone she's worked with on this, the first thing they said to her after the election was, “What's next?” Many good things came out of this campaign and 30 more states are working on putting similar proposals on their ballots. People who didn't even know what a GMO is are now talking about GMOs and learning more. Even several celebrities jumped onto this issue!! So it's only a matter of time.
We can't forget for a second how powerful the other side is, though.
They spent forty-five million dollars on this. Why would they do that? Because they knew how much more it would cost them to have to tell people what's in their food, and they knew that if they have to tell us, we wouldn't like it; any quick Google search for “GMO dangers” is enough to scare you and make you want to avoid GMOs, especially when there are other good options. And then they'd have to change how they do everything or risk losing even more money. Money money money, for them it's only about the money. But of course that's not how they played their game in order to win in California. They used a bunch of lies, one being the “we're trying to end world hunger” issue. Last night a bunch of us were chatting in the bar and Mark McAfee shared what he thinks of that bull in the second video below.
So yes, we're all still sad about the outcome, but you'll see how the movement's founder is staying so positive, how can we do any less?! She shares many reasons for us to have great hope and confidence. While we've lost the battle, we will certainly win the fight.
Pamm Larry Prop 37 Afterthoughts (plays after ad):
This next video with Mark McAfee has a twist at the end unrelated to the main topic of the video on feeding the world, but it was an interesting response to a question he was asked, so I left it in, knowing you'd find it interesting, too.
Watch the video here, it'll play after the ad:
- Please share your thoughts in the comments!
- Keep an eye on my Facebook and Twitter feed as I've been sharing snippets from talks I go to here and there throughout the weekend, and even better, pictures of the food, because everyone knows that's one of THE highlights of this conference!
Jeanmarie says
Kelly, I had no idea you were filming when I was asking Mark all those questions, how funny! It was so wonderful to get to talk to him and everybody… and terrific meeting you!
Michelle says
Hi Kelly,
I was wondering if you have seen this? https://thoughtsaftergod.blogspot.com/2012/11/why-im-not-voting-for-prop-37.html?m=1
I have to say she makes a very good argument. I had not seen the bill until I read it today. It sounds like it would increase the cost of our food even more since it isn’t very specific about who is actually liable.
AmyZander says
Where do I find out if my state is one of the 30 looking into putting this on the ballot? Who can I contact to volunteer? I am from Wisconsin.
Kelly the Kitchen Kop says
That’s a great question.
I did some googling and found a contact email address here: https://www.carighttoknow.org/contact.
I’d start there and see if they can direct you better. Let us know what you find, OK?
Thanks,
Kelly
MartieB says
I only saw ONE ad during prime time. It was jam packed with too much info for the average unaware person. Next time they need to make it more emotional:
“You have a right to know what you are feeding your children” “What are they hiding?” Show pictures of the tumor ridden rats from the 2 year French study just released:First-Ever Lifetime Feeding Study Finds Genetically Engineered Corn Causes Massive Tumors, Organ Damage, and Early Death (Mercola) Also create an email that we can forward to friends.
JMR says
Good advice to keep it simple. I never saw a “pro” ad, but I saw and heard literally hundreds of ads telling me to vote against prop 37. I talked to everyone I could about it and all wanted it to pass when I explained the bill was to label gmo’s, although before talking to me they only knew that it would make their grocery bill go up dramatically and that farmers were against it…just what it said in the ubiquitous ads.
Jennifer says
I’m getting NO sound on the Mark McAfee video? Just me, or is everyone having problems with it?
KitchenKop says
Try another browser, that usually fixes weird stuff like this.
Elizabeth Good says
Pamm is absolutely amazing!! I was so impressed with her at a tiny meeting months ago, that I started helping with the Yes on 37 campaign. And she was stunning throughout, all the way to the statewide call for all volunteers the night before the election. One could tell she did not expect a win, yet her grace, positivity, enthusiasm, deep appreciation for everyone, and hope for the future were mind-blowing to me. She was so touching, I even cried. While it’s true that 3 million votes are still to be counted here in California, the outcome in unlikely to change. I have seen a lot of (perhaps justifiable) anger, potential lawsuits, emails about conspiracy theories, etc., floating through the disappointed Californians since this loss. I would prefer that we take the high road of Pamm’s example of equanimous poise, and KNOW we will win this fight!
In fact, one county in the USA DID ban GMOS in this last election!
https://www.digitaljournal.com/article/336431
Soli says
I ended up engaging in some good conversation with people living in California just after it was announced that this did not pass. Sometime in the next week I am hoping to get some contacts out there who were/are involved in this to start working toward making a better proposition for this. In the interim I’ve decided that education is the best route, both for myself an others. So I got a hold of what is supposed to be a comprehensive list of packaged foods containing GMOs and shared it on my site. https://ibelieveinbutter.wordpress.com/2012/11/09/want-to-know-if-your-food-has-genetically-modified-ingredients/
If I have to give crash courses in genetics to get this material through to people, then I will!
Lisa says
There was a professional petition gatherer outside my grocery store the other day gathering signatures to mandate labeling of GMO’s in Washington state. I hope it makes it on the next ballot. I am just shocked & confused. I really don’t understand this world we live in. How can people vote to legalize marijuana (as they did here in WA) but not vote for labeling of GMO’s? It’s also sad that we live under a government who talks so much about “health care” but really could give a rip about our health. We have to fight for it.
Aneesa says
Thanks so much for leaving in that last piece about raw dairy vs regular dairy. Learned something new. Keep the updates from the conference coming!
Susan says
Someone linked this post over on Dr. Mercola’s site today saying that there are still thousands and thousands of votes to count and that the fight may not be over. I have no idea how accurate this may be, but the article sure makes sense. We should be hearing about this everywhere if we stil have the ability of winning!
https://jonrappoport.wordpress.com/2012/11/09/did-peop-37-really-lose-or-was-it-vote-fraud/
Heather says
The day of the election, the radio mentioned that many people were dropping off their mail-in ballots in Sonoma County. They estimated that it was about 100,000 and they wouldn’t be getting to those until Thursday. I was surprised to see that it was announced immediately that it didn’t pass. I’m hoping that this will all come out. I would like to see accurate numbers.
Lori says
They really need to get Hollywood involved next time. I saw one add, but it used sarcasm which I don’t think works for the general public. They need to be at rallies against GMOs, etc. Of course, maybe they were. I don’t watch the news.