These Anti-Prop 37 Companies May Surprise You

People often say that the media, with all of its many channels and publications, is in truth owned and controlled by just a small handful of corporations.

As it turns out, the same is true of food companies. Dagoba, for instance, is a brand of chocolate bars that can be found in the checkout aisles of any natural foods stores: it's labeled fair trade and organic, and is partnered with the Rainforest Alliance to support sustainable farming. Dagoba is also, as it happens, owned by Hershey.

There is a lot of money being spent right now both for and against Prop 37, a November ballot item that would require labeling on many foods containing genetically modified ingredients. The organizations in support of labeling tend to be natural foods and products purveyors (various small farmers, Dr. Bronner's, etc.), while the bigger guns against new labeling requirements are mostly biotech companies and huge food concerns like General Mills and Coca-Cola.

And of course, those food companies, own many, many smaller labels. Labels that you'd probably be shocked to find are, by dint of their bosses, anti-GMO labeling. Below, a list of those companies you maybe thought were hippie-friendly -- after all, they're on the shelves of your local grocery co-op:

Horizon Organic (Dean Foods)
Silk (Dean Foods)
Scharffen Berger (Hershey)
Truvia (Cargill)
Larabar (General Mills)
Muir Glen (General Mills)
Nature Valley (General Mills)
Mountain High (General Mills)
Alexia (ConAgra)
Santa Cruz Organic (J.M. Smucker)
Cascadian Farm (General Mills)
Good Earth (General Mills)
Alta Dena (Dean Foods)

And yes, Dagoba as well. There are, of course, many more (again, just a few food companies out there, most with octopus arms), but this shortlist is an excellent reminder: know your food!