Dive Brief:
- Monsanto joins Dow AgroSciences and the Maui Farm Bureau in a lawsuit against Maui County in an effort to stop the GMO moratorium there.
- Voters supporting the ban last week won in a very close race. Multiple GMO-related issues were up for contention this year, including this one. GMO labeling efforts, on the other hand, failed to pass in last week's election.
- The Maui County Council could potentially vote to stop the moratorium.
Dive Insight:
This suit comes just after one from the law's drafters, making sure the county enforces it.
Food Dive predicted that lawsuits would come to fruition sooner rather than later, and Monsanto is feeling pretty sure about its case. "We have full confidence in the merits of our legal claims and that a rational outcome will block the referendum from taking effect," said John P. Purcell, Monsanto of Hawaii's vice president of business and technology, according to The Star Advertiser.