TUSTIN – The California Policy Center (CPC) is providing laughs for Californians who've been called on to judge the "most ridiculous" Prop 65 warnings.
Over the past year, the CPC has been awarding a weekly cash prize for Proposition 65 warning label submissions. Winners have included warning labels on hamburgers, vitamins, toys, a gym and even a grocery store itself.
With 52 weekly winners, the CPC is now soliciting public opinion to determine the grand prize champion by asking for a vote on the favorite warning label. During the first week of September, voters will narrow the competition from 52 to 10, then the following week from 10 to five, and eventually the grand prize will be awarded to the most outlandish warning label of all.
“Prop 65 has been roundly criticized for misrepresenting consumer risk and dulling the public's reaction to legitimate government warnings,” the CPC said in a statement. “It's also been used as a vehicle for bounty hunter trial lawyers to sue small businesses. We're hoping this fun campaign might shine a light on this serious issue.”
The contest comes in the wake of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency instructing producers of pesticide products containing the active ingredient glyphosate, most notably found in Monsanto’s weed killer Roundup, to ignore a California determination that the substance is carcinogenic.
“The California Policy Center's Prop 65 contest is a fun campaign to draw attention to a serious issue,” CPC President Will Swaim said in a statement. “We have already collected from the public 52 of the most ridiculous Prop 65 warning label images, including those on prenatal vitamins, gingerbread houses, and even the gym. Now we're asking for the public's help in crowning the craziest label of them all.
"But Prop 65 is no laughing matter. It misrepresents consumer risk, dulls the public’s reaction to legitimate warnings, and hits small businesses with gigantic fines that line the pockets of trial attorneys," he said. "They say pictures speak louder than words, and if that's true then these insane Prop 65 images may just be enough to knock some sense into California legislators to reform this law.”