A measure to require labeling of genetically modified foods was defeated Tuesday.

With 92 percent of the vote counted, Proposition 37 was losing 53.1 percent to 46.9 percent.

Genetic engineering is a laboratory technique where scientists splice the DNA of one plant or animal and combine it with DNA from something else. The most common modifications insert genes from bacteria into crops to make them pest-resistant or able to withstand weedkillers like such as Roundup.

As biotech innovations have expanded in recent years, the percentage of crops that are genetically engineered has soared. Today, about 90 percent of corn and soybeans are genetically engineered, according to the USDA, as are much of the nation's canola and sugar beet crops. Those crops make their way into thousands of common food products that fill grocery stores.

Proposition 37 played out like a fight between a small health food store and a big-box grocery. On one side were organic food producers, alternative health website Mercola.com and hundreds of individual donors who believe genetic engineering is unnatural. They argued that consumers should have more information when they shop - and pointed out that more than 40 countries require labeling genetically modified food. Some supporters fear that GMOs cause health problems, though that hasn't been scientifically proven.

On the other side were conventional growers, large grocery chains, pesticide companies likesuch as Monsanto and DuPont - and many familiar brands likesuch as Pepsi, NestlCQwebsite and Kraft. They poured tens of millions of dollars into defeating the measure, funding a campaign that flooded airwaves, websites and mailboxes with messages that cast Proposition 37 as a confusing rip-off that would lead to frivolous lawsuits and higher grocery prices.

Proposition 37 was the second time nationwide that voters have been asked to decide about labeling GMOs. Oregon voters rejected a similar measure 10 years ago.

Advocates concerned about potential health and environmental impacts of genetic engineering have also pushed - unsuccessfully - for food labeling laws in 19 state legislatures and submitted a petition to the federal Food and Drug Administration earlier this year.

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Call Laurel Rosenhall, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 321-1083. Follow her on Twitter @LaurelRosenhall.

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Measure to label foods defeated