Canned Heat

Four little words.

That's what's at stake in the battle over November's Measure 92—what appears to be the second-most expensive ballot-measure fight in Oregon history. The words are "produced with genetic engineering."

Some of the world's largest food producers have poured $7.5 million into the campaign to keep these words from appearing on grocery shelves, while health-food companies and activists have donated $5.2 million to make the phrase state law.

Combined, the two sides have already spent $9.8 million on TV and radio ads. (That's not counting outside-the-box messaging: Last week, Ben & Jerry's changed the name of an ice cream flavor to "Food Fight Fudge Brownie" in support of Measure 92.)

The splicing of DNA into seeds to make them resistant to pests and weed killers has become increasingly common: Federal figures show 90 percent of the corn planted in the U.S. last year was genetically modified.

Studies haven't shown health risks from genetically modified organisms, yet many consumers are wary of these foods. Corporations like Kraft and General Mills fear GMO labeling would be a scarlet letter on their dinner and snack products.

Yet Measure 92 would only add a small amount of information for shoppers. Here's what would change, and who's spending money in the war of words.

NOW 

USDA organic: The U.S. Department of Agriculture runs this voluntary organic certification program. One of the conditions for qualifying is that the food and its ingredients can't contain GMOs. The 2,711 farms and food producers participating in the USDA program can display a seal.

Non-GMO Project verified: The feds aren't the only ones offering farmers a way to tell customers they don't use GMOs. A Bellingham, Wash., nonprofit called the Non-GMO Project has certified more than 20,000 products as containing less than 0.9 percent genetically modified ingredients. That's the same standard the European Union uses for labeling, and the threshold that would require a label under Measure 92.

WHAT COULD BE

The Measure 92 label: If Oregon voters approve GMO labeling, foods with more than 0.9 percent genetically modified ingredients would receive one of three labels. Raw foods with GMOs would read, "Genetically Engineered." Packaged foods would read, "Produced with Genetic Engineering" or "Partially Produced with Genetic Engineering." The producers would not be required to say which ingredients were genetically modified, although measure backers say the companies could add more details. These labels have no national precedent: Vermont, the only state to pass a GMO-labeling law, is fighting a lawsuit filed by a coalition of food companies and hasn't begun labeling yet.

WHO'S GIVING

WWeek 2015