Posted February 11, 2014
The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) announced
the creation of its 29-member “Coalition for Safe Affordable Food,” to help in
its effort to create a federal labeling law for genetically modified (GMO)
foods, according to a Politico article available here.
The “Coalition
for Safe Affordable Food” includes the GMA, the American Bakers
Association, American Beverage Association, American Frozen Food Institute,
National Corn Growers Association, the Biotechnology Industry Association, and
others.
The Coalition is advocating for legislation that would
require “mandatory premarket approval of GMO food ingredients by FDA and grant
authority to the agency to label products that raise safety concerns, set up a
voluntary program for food companies to label foods that are GMO free, include
GMO ingredients in a definition of “natural” foods and preempt state labeling
laws.
Chuck Conner, president of the National Council of Farm
Cooperatives, said recent state action on GMO labeling played a significant
role in the coalition’s action. GMO
labeling initiatives were narrowly defeated in Washington and California
recently. Other
states have GMO labeling laws that will only take effect if surrounding states
enact similar legislation.
“If every state had a different requirement for [GMOs],
our farmers just couldn’t adapt to that,” said Ray Gaesser, president of the
American Soybean Association.
Jason Rano, director of government affairs at the
Environmental Working Group, says the industry’s proposal of a voluntary
federal standard for labeling will not clarify the confusion around GMOs for
consumers, according to an article by NPR available here.
“What we really need is for the FDA to require labeling
of genetically engineered foods and ingredients, so that consumers can
understand the universe and make informed choices. We need to provide consumers with the
information we know they crave.”
For more information on food labeling, please visit the
National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
