Natural Foodies

Michelle Ciccarelli Lerach, wife of wealthy La Jolla superlawyer Bill Lerach — who did time in federal prison after copping a plea in a client kickback case — has become the second wealthy San Diego County resident to give big money to Proposition 37, the measure on November’s ballot to require labeling of genetically modified food. According to state disclosure filings, Ciccarelli, also a lawyer, kicked in $25,000 on July 23. Back on February 28, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps All-One-God-Faith Inc., the Escondido-based organic soap maker run by hemp-legalization proponent David Bronner, who was arrested during a protest outside the White House earlier this year, gave $250,000 to help qualify the measure for the ballot. Besides her roles as attorney, wife, and political activist, Ciccarelli also runs Cups, a high-end La Jolla cupcake eatery.

According to Ballotpedia, Prop 37 would “Require labeling on raw or processed food offered for sale to consumers if the food is made from plants or animals with genetic material changed in specified ways” and “Prohibit labeling or advertising such food as ‘natural.’”

Exemptions from regulation would include foods that are “certified organic; unintentionally produced with genetically engineered material; made from animals fed or injected with genetically engineered material but not genetically engineered themselves; processed with or containing only small amounts of genetically engineered ingredients; administered for treatment of medical conditions; [or] sold for immediate consumption such as in a restaurant; or alcoholic beverages.”