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Big Agriculture and food companies are shelling out gobs of cash ahead of November’s election to convince Californians to vote against a proposed law that would require businesses to label products that contain genetically modified organisms.

Proponents of Proposition 37 applaud the strict labeling requirements and say it will help consumers make better purchasing decisions. Opponents say that the labels are misleading and overly burdensome to food producers. Not only that, they claim, but compliance would be costly — an expense that would likely drive up the price of goods in the grocery store.

The money is behind the opposition, literally.

Prop 37’s opponents include Monsanto (MON), PepsiCo (PEP), Coca-Cola (KO), Hershey (HSY), and Kellogg (K). Together these companies and other large agricultural concerns have already spent millions to fight the proposed labeling law.

Labeling Purity

If Proposition 37 becomes law, raw GMO produce would be required to carry a label stating that it is “genetically engineered,” and all processed foods containing GMOs would be required to be labeled as “partially produced with genetic engineering,” or “may be partially produced with genetic engineering.” It will also prohibit the use of labels such as “natural,” “naturally made,” “naturally grown,” and “all natural” in foods with GMO ingredients.