Last Friday, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service extended the comment period for its proposed rule requiring labeling for mechanically tenderized beef. Those products are processed with needles or fine blades to break up the meat fibers and make the steak more tender. The rule also applies to beef products that are injected with a … Read more
Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) have introduced new legislation to the U.S. House and Senate that would require the labeling of all genetically engineered (GE) foods. The Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act is the first labeling bill introduced to the Senate in more than ten years. Nine senators and … Read more
The Consumer Federation of America is one of 229 consumer groups that wrote a letter to USDA Secretary Thomas Vilsack, asking him to protect the integrity of Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) requirements for meat. The 2008 Farm Bill included mandatory COOL provisions for beef, pork, poultry, fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables and some nuts, but … Read more
A letter signed by 55 members of Congress was sent to the FDA on March 12, 2012, asking that agency to require the labeling of genetically modified foods. The letter was signed by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and fifty-one others. With the exceptions … Read more
Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) is planning on introducing a federal bill to mandate labeling of foods containing genetically modified ingredients. The bill sets disclosure and labeling requirements for any foods that have been genetically engineered or modified. The bill will be co-sponsored by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), who has been active on this issue for … Read more
Food & Water Watch has released a legal memo that provides a guideline for the USDA to stand up for Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) on imported beef and pork. The World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled against the U.S. stance that meat products should contain information about where those products originated, saying they were “protectionist” against other countries. … Read more
New Mexico is joining the GMO labeling fight. A bill that would require labels for any foods, drink, chewing gum, and pet foods containing genetically modified ingredients has been pre-filed in the New Mexico state senate by Senator Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe-25). Senate Bill 18 would apply to any food that contains more than 1% … Read more
After the defeat of Proposition 37 in California, which would have mandated labeling any food that contained genetically engineered (GE) or genetically modified (GMO) foods, Washington state is entering the battle. An initiative called I-522 proposes that all foods produced through genetic engineering sold in that state be labeled. The initiative states that since the … Read more
California voters have defeated Prop 37, that would have required labels on genetically modified foods. The final vote was 53 to 47 percent. A few months ago, polls showed the measure was favored more than two-to-one. But a huge campaign by opponents of the measure, mostly pesticide and processed food manufacturers, chipped away at that … Read more
This last week, the Made in USA Foundation, together with R-CALF USA and Mile High Organics, filed a lawsuit against the World Trade Organization to get that body’s recent ruling against the U.S. country of origin labeling law (COOL) declared null and void. The lawsuit names U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Ron … Read more