Yesterday, California voters rejected Proposition 37, the Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act by 53 percent to 47 percent.

The voter initiative would have required labeling of most foods with genetically modified ingredients, estimated to include up to 80 percent of the foods found in most grocery stores. It would also have prohibited labeling or advertising processed foods as “natural,” whether they were genetically engineered or not. Enforcement would have been in the hands of private attorneys, similar to the approach used under California’s Proposition 65, but with fewer protections against abusive litigation.