Almost two weeks after the Senate gave final congressional approval for the GMO labeling bill, President Obama signed the law that prevents states from requiring on-package labeling of genetically modified ingredients. A coalition of more than 1,100 food and agricultural groups pushed for the passage of this historic bill, according to Agri-Pulse.
The Vermont labeling law that triggered confusion for consumers and threatened to increase food costs prompted the development of the national biotech labeling law.
The Agriculture Department issued a statement saying that a group is working to “develop a timeline for rulemaking and to ensure an open and transparent process for effectively establishing this new program. We are committed to providing multiple opportunities for engagement and will have more information about this very soon.”
Many within agriculture, farm groups, food companies and the biotech industry support the passage of this bill.
“President Obama’s signature today will put a stop to the harmful patchwork of state GMO labeling laws and set in place a uniform, national disclosure system that will provide balanced, accurate information to consumers,” American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said in a statement. “For decades, biotechnology has made it possible for farmers to grow safe and healthful crops while reducing their environmental impact. We are pleased that Congress and the administration have moved swiftly to prevent consumer confusion and protect agricultural innovation.”
The biotech bill was supported by both a majority of both Republicans and Democrats. It mandates the disclosure of genetically engineered ingredients without requiring on-package text or symbols, but will allow food companies to do it through scannable smartphone codes.
The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) is among many groups supporting the passage of the bill.
“Its consistent national standard is far better than a costly and confusing patchwork of different state labeling,” Pam Bailey, GMA president and CEO, said today in a release. “The president’s signing of this legislation stops, effective immediately, Vermont’s mandatory on-package labeling law that…already has left consumers in the state with fewer products on the shelves and higher compliance costs for small businesses.”
The Consumers Union urged the companies like Pepsi, Mars, Dannon, General Mills, Kellogg’s and Nestle, who have already started labeling products because of the Vermont law, to continue doing so. The Consumers Union opposed the federal law.
“Mandatory, nationwide GMO labeling is now the law of the land and that should be celebrated by all those who worked so hard to ensure that all consumers have more information about their food,” the Agricultural Committee’s ranking Democrat Debbie Stabenow said.