The Vermont House voted to accept the Senate version of the GE labeling bill last week. Governor Shumlin is expected to sign the bill. All foods for sale in Vermont that are made with GE or GMO ingredients will have to carry a label effective July 1, 2016.
The Center for Food Safety’s executive director Andrew Kimbrell said, “this is an historic day for the people’s right to know. It is now very clear that federal labeling of genetically engineered foods is going to happen in the foreseeable future. Should the industry try to challenge this law, Center for Food Safety will be there to help defend it and we are confident that it would survive any such challenge.”
While Vermont is not the first state to pass such a bill, it is the first bill that stands alone. No other states need to have similar laws for Vermont’s law to be enforced. Measures in Connecticut and Maine require that a certain number of states enact similar legislation before they would take effect.
And there are those, including Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) who are trying to stop Vermont’s efforts. He has introduced a bill in the U.S. House to prevent states from enacting these labeling laws.
CFS helped to draft the legislation with Vermont state representatives. The agency has worked with advocates for labeling since 2005. In addition to the labeling requirement, the bill mandates that GE foods can’t be labeled “natural” or any other similar wording that would mislead consumers.
