Election Results Affecting Food Policy and Industry

November 11, 2016 Zin

The presidential election wasn’t the only thing being voted on this week. Millions of Americans also voted their voice on state and citywide issues affecting food policy and the food industry; minimum wage, grocery bag bans, and farming rights were on the table Election Day, here are the results as reported by the website Eater.

See their helpful chart here.

Some of the changes in the ballots affecting producers and consumers:

Indiana: Make hunting, fishing, and trapping wildlife a constitutional right

PASSED

Kansas: Make hunting, fishing, and trapping wildlife a constitutional right

PASSED

Massachusetts: Ban certain methods of farm animal containment

PASSED

Montana: Ban using animal traps and snares on state lands

PASSED

Oklahoma: Make farming a constitutional right

NOT PASSED

Oregon: Ban sale of products from 12 species of endangered animals

PASSED

California: Continue to ban plastic grocery bags

PASSED

California: Redirect proceeds from grocery bag sales to Wildlife Conservation Board

NOT PASSED

Oklahoma: Grocery/convenience stores may sell full-strength beer and wine

PASSED

In Indiana and Kansas, controversial amendments to make it a constitutional right to hunt and fish passed in both states. According to the latest National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, Indiana enumerated some 842,000 outdoor sportsmen while Kansas had 453,000.

Voters in Boulder, Colorado and the voters in San Francisco, Oakland, and Albany, California approved taxes on soda.

 

Supporters wanting to raise minimum wages got their way election day, proposed minimum wage increases passed in each of the four states where it was on the ballot: Arizona, Colorado, Maine, and Washington.

Maine, the tipped minimum wage will double to $5 in 2017 and continue to increase by $1 each year until it’s equal to the standard minimum wage and essentially eliminated.

South Dakota, voters decided not to lower the minimum wage for minors.

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