"Meat Industry, Calif. Could Head To Court Over Cancer Warning Labels"

"The recent finding by an international panel that eating processed meat increases the risk of cancer could trigger warning labels under California law and a legal battle by meat producers and their trade groups to avoid the requirement.

California is one of the country’s largest producers and consumers of meat, and the meat industry is likely to fight any effort by the state to label its products under Proposition 65. That law, approved by the state’s voters three decades ago, requires warnings about products that contain substances known to cause cancer.

'I expect to see a lot of activity from the meat industry about that process,' said Patty Lovera, assistant director of Food and Water Watch, a consumer watchdog group. 'They’ll beat it down in the court of public opinion.'"

Curtis Tate reports for the McClatchy Washington Bureau November 6, 2015.