In the latest development in the ongoing fight to label GMOs in the state of Washington, State Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Grocery Manufacturers Association for illegally collecting millions of dollars in their campaign against GMO labeling.

The GMA, the biggest processed food trade group in the U.S., has already set a record for the most money ever raised in Washington state to fight a public initiative—over $7 million so far—all in an effort to defeat Initiative 522, set for the ballot in November.

And that money, Ferguson argues, has been funneled through the GMA illegally.

As the Seattle Times reports, the lawsuit alleges that the GMA “solicited big money from its members specifically for the anti-GMO-labeling campaign, yet illegally concealed the identity of those donors from the public by failing to register and file reports as a political committee.”

Seattle Times has more:

“GMA is now doing industry’s dirty work by donating on behalf of its members and possibly violating Washington State’s lobbying rules in the process.” – Michele Simon, Eat Drink Politics

As Michele Simon, who runs the Eat Drink Politics blog, explained earlier this week:

“They don’t want to tell us whats in their food and they don’t want tell us who is paying for their ads,” said Delana Jones, campaign manager for the campaign, adding that the GMA’s campaign ads should be taken off the air until their donors are revealed.

“In our view it’s a clear violation. It’s an important violation, particularly given the size and amount of dollars that we’re talking about,” Ferguson said at a news conference in Seattle.

Earlier this month, the group Moms for Labeling lost a similar legal challenge against the No on 522 Campaign and the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) for illegally concealing the identity of the campaign’s donors.

In addition to losing the case, the group was fined $10,000 in a counter legal attack by the GMA.

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