Vermont Attorney General Bill Sorrell says a federal court hearing was just the first day of a long legal battle over the state’s law that requires, from July 1, 2016, special labels on foods made with genetically modified organisms. “I’ll be really surprised if this case is over in the next few years, it’s going to take a long time. But we’re fighting, and we hope to have the law upheld,” said Sorrell to WCAX-TV in Burlington, Vt.
Sorrell said the GMO labeling requirement would be no different than regulations to list ingredients in food or the calories and salt content. Trade groups representing the food industry say the Vermont law improperly supersedes federal control of interstate commerce. The industry is seeking an injunction against the Vermont law. The state is seeking dismissal of the lawsuit.
The Burlington Free Press said U.S. Judge Christina Reiss sharply questioned both sides during the hearing. At one point, she asked the state what value consumers would receive from labels that say a food “may” contain GMO ingredients. USA Today said Reiss was skeptical as well of an argument by a food industry attorney that the Vermont law was driven by an “ill-informed minority.” Responded the judge, “Who cares?”