Since genetically modified crops were first grown 20 years ago, use has skyrocketed, with 93 percent of soybeans and 85 percent of the corn crop planted in these seeds, according to the USDA. Vermont’s senator’s, Bernie Sanders and Patrick Leahy, argue that the measure falls short, especially compared to the tougher labeling in their state that kicked in last Friday, July 1, 2016.
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The Bill Does Not Cover All Genetically Engineered Food Ingredients.
What that means is that the Vermont labeling law is changing the landscape of our grocery stores, and making it easier than ever to know which products contain GMOs.
Some lawmakers had expressed anger that GMO labeling laws in their states would be pre-empted by the federal legislation crafted by Roberts and Stabenow. Unfortunately, the Senate bill has flaws of its own that would compound, not solve, the problem.
After years of debate, the question over whether or not USA foods made with genetically-modified organisms should be labeled is finally coming to a head.
“If this bill becomes law, the industry wins what are essentially voluntary requirements under this GMO labeling ‘compromise, ‘” Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch, an environmental advocacy group, said in a statement. However, the legislation would create major new regulatory costs for the many food manufacturers who don’t do business in Vermont.
Stabenow and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) have pressed their colleagues to vote in favor of the compromise legislation.
In a speech on the Senate floor before the vote, Roberts stressed that biotechnology products are safe. Some foods, like sweet potatoes, contain genes from other organisms, but not because of human intervention – instead, thousands of years ago, bacteria simply inserted itself into the DNA of sweet potatoes. The engineering is done to create certain traits, like resistance to herbicides. The label requirements would also apply to growers of fruits and vegetables that are genetically engineered, like the Arctic Apple and some zucchini. Millions more that do have smart phones may not be able to access these QR codes because they can not afford to maintain their data service or their neighborhoods do not have adequate network coverage. “This so-called mandatory GMO labeling bill isn’t mandatory, doesn’t label, and it excludes most GMO foods”. Vermont’s law would require items with genetically modified ingredients to be labeled “produced with genetic engineering”.
But the bill’s opponents, including Sens.
The Agriculture Department would have two years to write the rules.
Not all companies will comply with all products sold in state, and local news station WCAX reports that some 3,000 products will slowly disappear from shelves as retailers sell off existing stock over the yearlong window allowed by the law.
Despite that potential for negative reaction, the government is acknowledging that people want to know about the presence of GMOs in their food, with some polls showing it as high as 90 percent. It gives them three options to tell consumers that a product contains GMO ingredients: a word message on the product packaging, a GMO symbol on the packaging or an electronic label that can be scanned by consumers with their smartphones, she said.
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Another concern about labeling requirements was that they could lead to confusion for consumers or the implication that products including biotech ingredients were not as safe as others, said Gordon.
