The food industry is bankrolling a publicity blitz against mandatory GMO food labels that includes “a six-figure campaign that is running ads in prime time on network and cable TV in and around the nation’s capital,” says the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “With Vermont set to become the first state in the country to force GMO labels on foods on July 1, opponents of on-package labeling are running out of time.” The industry-backed Coalition for Safe and Affordable Food says it is working with lawmakers to pre-empt state labeling “and stand up against on-package labeling of GMOs.”
“Some consumer groups are trying to push back. Scott Faber of the group Just Label It called the coalition ad an “unbelievable misrepresentation,” says the Star-Tribune. It quotes Faber as saying labeling advocates are ready to work with the food industry “on on-package disclosure that gives information in a way that does not disparage GMOs.” Congress deadlocked on GMO labeling at the end of 2015.