National GMO Labeling Law Will Not Pass This Year

Last updated on January 5th, 2016 at 09:08 am

Congress has failed to reach an agreement this year on legislation that prevents states from enacting their own labeling laws concerning genetically modified organisms, commonly referred to as GMOs.

Many in the food industry are expressing disappointment, including the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), which says the failure prevents “a costly and confusing 50-state patchwork of mandatory GMO labeling laws.”

In a statement, GMA President and CEO Pamela G. Bailey said, “It is unfortunate that Congress has failed to take action this year to stop a patchwork of costly and misleading state labeling mandates, an issue of tremendous importance to consumers, farmers, food and beverage companies. In January, food manufacturers will face exponentially increasing costs totaling hundreds of millions of dollars to comply with Vermont’s GMO labeling mandate.

“There is bipartisan agreement that genetic engineering should not be stigmatized—it is the technology that feeds a hungry and growing world. There is bipartisan agreement that consumers should have access to consistent and helpful information about genetic engineering. There is bipartisan agreement that a 50-state patchwork of laws is disastrous for farmers, food companies and consumers. Given there is so much common ground, we welcome Secretary Vilsack’s willingness to bring parties together in January to forge a compromise that Congress could pass as soon as possible. We are hopeful that compromise will establish a uniform national standard for foods made with genetically engineered crops.

“Earlier this month, our companies announced a national transparency initiative that will make it easier for consumers to get the information they want, when they want it. SmartLabel provides consumers with a cornucopia of information at their fingertips about the ingredients in food, beverage and other consumer products. We are working to ensure that vast majority of products that consumers purchase will have SmartLabel in the next several years. By the end of 2017, we estimate that 20,000 food products will disclose through SmartLabel whether they contain ingredients sourced from genetically engineered crops—and that number could triple once a Congress passes a uniform national standard for GMOs.”

Leslie Sarasin, president and CEO of the Food Marketing Institute, added, “While we conclude the 2015 legislative session on several positive notes, we were extremely disappointed that lawmakers did not include a federal standard for GMO labeling. Still, we remain positive, since leaders of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee have already indicated that they will press for action in January and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has indicated his willingness to also engage.”

The Coalition for Safe Affordable Food said in a statement, “The failure of Congress to act will result in enormous costs to the agriculture and food industry who work tirelessly to feed a growing world population. A patchwork of state labeling laws will prove costly and confusing for consumers.

“Nearly 500 agriculture and industry groups in all 50 states have been urgently calling for Congress to pass uniform, national food labeling legislation to prevent serious and costly disruptions to the food production and supply chain. And now the burdensome threat of the Vermont law looms large.

“While the U.S. House of Representatives worked in bipartisan fashion to pass the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act in July with the support of 45 Democrats, action stalled in the U.S. Senate. The coalition calls on members of Congress to work to find agreement and pass legislation to address this issue immediately when they return in January.

“It’s time for action. The negative consequences of the patchwork of state labeling mandates will be felt by farmers, businesses and consumers starting early next month—and only Congress can act to prevent it.”