Urban voters will decide Oregon GMO-label initiative | Food and Environment Reporting Network

Political analysts say the outcome of Oregon’s statewide referendum on labeling foods made with genetically modified organisms will depend on whether opponents can win over liberal-leaning urban voters, says the Portland Tribune. Analysts expect the opposition to out-spend the pro-labeling campaign. Around 80 percent of the state population lives in urban areas. Analysts told the Tribune that more than demographics will come into play in GMO vote. Voter turnout is more difficult to predict in a mid-term election, they said, and it is unclear how motivated urban voters will be compared to rural voters.

Voters in California and Washington state rejected GMO initiatives in the past two years despite polls that showed the idea with broad support. “The opponents have the upper hand,” said analyst Bill Lunch. Where Oregon differs from its neighbors, said the Tribune, is that Jackson and Josephine counties in southern Oregon approved GMO bans earlier this year and eastern Oregon was the site where unapproved GMO wheat was discovered in May 2013.

Capital Press tells the story of a small Oregon hog farm that gradually modified its operations to become a pork supplier to a Portland grocery chain “frequented by hipsters, urban professionals and earnest foodies.” The farm, already antibiotic free, is in the process of being certified as non-GMO. Another hog producer says niche marketing is a way for small operators to survive.