After more than a year of negotiations between the top Republican and Democrat on the U.S. Senate Agriculture committee, a bill has been introduced that would preempt Vermont’s GMO labeling law days before it goes into effect.
The move comes a week before a law mandating labeling genetically modified foods in Vermont goes into effect.
Thefederal legislation would pre-empt Vermont’s and prohibit any other state from enacting a GMO labeling law. It requires the U.S. Department of Agriculture to establish a uniform national standard. It would give food companies labeling flexibility including allowing them to use a QR code that can be read with smartphones.
The Vermont Attorney General is defending lawsuits against the state law brought by the Grocery Manufacturers’ Association. Attorney General Bill Sorrell didn’t hold back in his criticism of the Senate proposal. “This is really a very industry-friendly proposal. You're not going to be able to look on the label and see whether the food that’s in the package was produced through genetic engineering or contains GMO ingredients. It’s not going to be there. You're going to have to call an 800 number or have a smart phone with you that has an app. You know. Come on. It's a joke.”
Rural Vermont is a part of the Vermont Right to Know GMO coalition. Executive Director Andrea Stander says seeing the proposal is particularly frustrating because many major food companies have already agreed to comply with Vermont’s GMO labeling law. “It proposes to give the food manufacturers the option of how they're going to label these things. They've been yelling and screaming about a patchwork of state laws. Well now we'll have a patchwork of labels. Because everybody gets to decide what they want to put on the label.”
Vermont Retail and Grocers’ Association attempted to make two changes in the state’s GMO law during the spring legislative session. They wanted to delay when consumers can sue over non-labeled items and obtain an exemption for food prepared in stores. Association President Jim Harrison says while they are preparing their members for Vermont’s law, they hope to see a national labeling system implemented. “Not all manufacturers are going to label for Vermont so as existing stocks are depleted over the coming months it's very likely without a federal solution that Vermonters will see less choice on their store shelves.”
Vermont’s top leaders panned the Senate proposal. Governor Peter Shumlin issued a statement noting his dismay that food manufacturers would be allowed to choose how to disclose the information.
U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy said the agreement not only preempts Vermont’s law but that it also includes “…complicated scanning codes rather than simple on-package labels or symbols.”
Senator Bernie Sanders promised to work to defeat the legislation, noting that “People have a right to know what is in the food they eat.”
The Grocery Manufacturers Association, which has lawsuits pending against the state of Vermont, called on the Senate to quickly pass the measure.
