Posted January 29, 2014
Monsanto shareholders considered two proposals related
to genetically modified (GMO) foods at their annual meeting on Tuesday,
according to an article by the St. Louis Business Journal available here.
The proposals came from two shareholders, calling for
the company to work with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on food
labeling guidelines and to assess the impact of seed contamination of
non-genetically modified crops.
The food labeling proposal was submitted by Adam
Eidinger, who “suggests that foods be labeled if 0.9 percent or more of their
makeup is from genetic engineering.” The
proposal states, “Americans have the right to know what they are eating.”
The second proposal is by California shareholder, John
Harrington, calling for “Monsanto to assess financial risks associated with
crop contamination, monitoring and removal.”
Monsanto’s board has recommended a vote against the
proposal, according to an Agri-Pulse article available here. The company said that it already discloses
material risks and operational impacts in Securities and Exchange Commission
filings and the requested study “would be redundant and provide no meaningful
additional information to shareowners.”
For more information on biotechnology and food labeling,
please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here
and here.
