Oral arguments are tentatively set for early January in U.S. District Court in Vermont on the state’s law that requires, from July 1, 2016, special labels on food made with genetically modified organisms, says the Burlington (VT) Free Press. The law is challenged by the food industry. “We have committed to doing our very best to uphold this law,” State Attorney General William Sorrell says in the Free Press story, a broad overview of the issue. Sorrell estimates the state could spend $2 million on the trial. “I would be shocked if there is not an appeal,” said Sorrell, who says the case could go to the Supreme Court in the end. “This is not a minor matter.”
The food industry is asking for a temporary injunction to prevent Vermont from moving forward with implementation of the labeling law, says the Free Press. The state will argue for dismissal of the lawsuit. It has retained a Washington, D.C., law firm for $1.465 million to assist in the case.