Monsanto Company (MON) And E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co (DD) Have Spent $8 Million This Week To Defeat GMO Labeling Law In Washington

This November voters in Washington will be deciding on labeling of genetically modified foods via Washington Initiative 522, and thus far the biotech/agribusiness industry is coming out swinging spending millions in less than a week to defeat the measure. Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON) has spent $4.5 million this week while E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co (NYSE:DD) has shoveled another $3.25 million into the battle. Combine this with $500,000 spent by Bayer a few weeks ago and you can see that the industry isn’t taking this lightly.

One can expect the spending to increase dramatically as Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON) and its cohorts have fought hard to water down a GMO labeling bill in Connecticut and recently spent over $50 million to defeat GMO labeling in California. What makes the full on media blitz and dollars spent to stop these laws curious is that polls show the vast majority of Americans are in fact in favor of required labeling for genetically modified foods. A recent poll from the New York Times returned results showing 93% of respondents wanted GMOs identified. The recent sustained selling in Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON)’s stock has even led many to believe hedge funds are growing weary of the increasing battles against modified crops.

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