Posted April 9, 2014
Vermont may be the first state in the country to
require labeling on genetically engineered (GE) food products, according to an
article by Vermont Public Radio available here.
The bill, H. 112,
was passed
in the House, and then moved to the Senate where it was approved by the
Agriculture and Judiciary Committees.
The bill has now been referred to the Appropriations committee and will
be considered by the full Senate.
When the House approved the bill, it specified that it
will not go into effect unless other states pass similar proposals. The Senate bill, however, “doesn’t contain
this trigger mechanism.”
If passed, the bill would require all GE food products
to be labeled beginning in July of 2016.
Senate President John Campbell strongly supports the
bill. Campbell said, “In today’s society
especially with the emergence of all different maladies,” we should know what
we are eating.
Senators acknowledged that, if passed, Vermont is
likely to face lawsuits, according to an article by the Burlington Free Press
available here. Addressing that concern, the bill includes
the creation of a legal defense fund “to which people can voluntarily
contribute and legal settlements the attorney general collects would go” into
the fund until it reaches $1.5 million.
For more information on food labeling, please visit the
National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
