Posted January 21, 2014
Members of Congress and groups representing the organic
food industry and consumers recently sent a letter to President Barack Obama,
urging him to act on genetically modified (GMO) food labeling, according to a
Politico article available here.
The letter, sent Thursday morning, states: “In 2007,
you pledged to give consumers the right to know if their food is genetically
engineered…National polls show that 93 percent of Americans share your view.”
While campaigning in 2007, Obama made this statement:
“Here’s what I’ll do as president … We’ll let folks know if their food has been
genetically modified, because Americans should know what their buying.”
Signatories on the letter include: U.S. Rep. Peter
DeFazio (D-OR), U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), U.S. Rep. Ann McLane Kuster
(D-NH); and U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Ben & Jerry’s, Nature’s Path,
Stoneyfield Farms, the Consumer Federation of America and several environmental
and health groups, according to a Reuters article available here.
The Grocery Manufacturers Association, which represents
over 300 food companies, is urging Congress and the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) to “preempt any state labeling mandates in favor of a
federal standard for voluntary labeling, and to allow some GMO foods to be
labeled ‘natural.’”
For more information on food labeling, please visit the
National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
