Posted February 11, 2015
The
National Association of State Departments of Agriculture passed a resolution to
support a national uniform labeling policy for genetically modified foods
(GMO), according to an Ag Week article available here. WNAX also
published an article available here.
The
measure does not specifically support the bill introduced by Rep. Mike Pompeo,
R-Kan., which would limit food labeling with GMO ingredients to those with
which Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finds a food safety problem. Louisiana
Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain said supports the bill.
“The whole
issue is we need a uniform labeling system based on sound science,” said Strain.
“We don’t need a non-uniform, disjointed system.”
South
Dakota Agriculture Secretary Lucas Lentsch stated a national standard is needed
to overcome the problems stemmed from different and diverse state regulations
that obstruct biotechnology, according to WNAX.
Lentsch
said that GM0 foods are completely safe and fit in well with our present food
system, which is the safest in the world, and having a national standard would
enhance that safety.
Agriculture
Secretary Tom Vilsack said the Pompeo bill is an “end run” around labeling, and
that he is not sure supporters can get it through Congress, according to Ag Week.
Vilsack
also said that he has a “commitment to coexistence” between organic and
conventional crops, and he plans to reconvene the Advisory Committee on
Biotechnology in the 21st Century, known as AC21, in March to continue work on
how both industries can thrive.
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Update: In
a
letter to House offices, 373 producer groups, processors, biotech
providers, and food companies representing the Coalition for Safe and
Affordable Food asked Congress members to support a bill that would provide
federal food labeling standards for genetically engineered (GMO) products,
according to Agri-Pulse.
Reps. Mike
Pompeo, R-Kans., and G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., introduced H.R. 1599, the Safe
and Accurate Food Labeling Act, on March 25, to establish a voluntary, national
labeling law for foods derived from GMO ingredients, which “will ensure food
labeling in the United States is uniform and science based,” said the groups.
The bill
also requires FDA to evaluate all genetically engineered foods before they
enter the market, pre-empting any state mandatory laws for GMO labeling.
For more information on biotechnology, please visit the
National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
