Food packages nationwide would for the first time be required to carry labels listing genetically modified ingredients under legislation the Senate backed Thursday.
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Looks like Vermont’s new GMO labeling law may not be long for this world: A bill that would block states from passing their own GMO labeling laws just passed in the Senate, reports The Hill, and is expected to easily pass in the House. Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and would preempt Vermont’s state GMO labeling law that took effect July 1.
The bill exempts foods in which meat, poultry and egg products are the main ingredients and prohibits the secretary of agriculture from considering any food product derived from an animal to be bioengineered exclusively because the animal might have eaten bioengineered feed. But despite years of fear and concern over the prevalence of genetically engineered ingredients in the American food supply-the majority of both corn and soybeans grown in the USA are genetically modified-no research has shown that consuming such foods presents a risk to human health. If this bill was truly meant to expand consumers’ right to know, it would require a clear, easy to read, uniform food labeling standard.
The US Agriculture Department (USDA) will now decide on which ingredients would be considered genetically modified, reported Reuters. Critics say the bill is too vague and could create loopholes that could fail to inform consumers about all GMO ingredients.
“We are now a major step closer to ending the confusion that has already arisen because of the Vermont law”, said NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern.
GMO corn may also be excluded thanks to ambiguous language, some said. But the GMO labeling debate is far from over.
In his weekly conference call, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says Iowa needs the bill to prevent a patchwork of state labeling laws.
The United States is the world’s largest market for foods made with genetically altered ingredients.
“It’s fair to say that it’s not the ideal bill, but it is certainly the bill that can pass, which is the most important right now”, said American Soybean Association’s (ASA) director of policy communications Patrick Delaney.
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Numerous polls have shown that a significant majority of Americans support mandatory labeling for GMOs. It was blocked by the Senate in March.
