The bill would preempt any state laws, such as one now in Vermont, and would establish the first national standard for how consumers are informed about controversial ingredients.
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Nebraska’s US senators split this week over legislation requiring labeling for foods with genetically modified ingredients, with both Republican lawmakers saying they were looking out for the interests of home state farmers. He argued that “with the swift speed with which the proponents of this bill have moved, with no committee process, no debate or amendment process, we will not be able to ensure the language in this bill does exactly what they say that it does”. “This bill represents a great step in achieving public acceptance of a reliable, safe technology”. Some farm groups and Big Food have long lobbied against the Vermont law, although huge brands like Campbell Soup and General Mills have accepted the movement toward transparency and have made a decision to voluntarily label GMO-containing products.
“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. If passed in the House [official website], this law would stand as a national standard for displaying GMO contents and replace all state-based GMO packaging laws, including more stringent laws in states like Vermont.
The legislation was passed in an effort to create uniform labeling with words, pictures or a bar code that can be scanned with smartphones in all 50 states. But with a bill on its way to setting at least a GMO labeling standard at the federal level, Just Label It is looking to win ground with the USDA, which would implement the law, and in the marketplace.
The food industry supports the Senate bill, but many labeling proponents do not.
Farmers lobbied against the Vermont law, worrying that labeling stigmatizes GMO crops and could hurt demand for food containing those ingredients, but have applauded this law.
Consumer groups and several Democrats in the Senate said the bill was riddled with “loopholes” that would hurt consumers and benefit the food industry.
The legislation allows the Agriculture Department to determine how much of a “bioengineered substance” must be present to require a GMO label. Only a handful of genetically engineered fruits and vegetables are available in the produce aisle, including Hawaiian papaya, some zucchini and squash and some sweet corn.
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Genetically modified foods are plants or animals that have had genes copied from other plants or animals inserted into their DNA.
