Leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee agreed on mandatory nationwide labeling of GMO foods, allowing use of QR codes and symbols as well as wording on packages, under a system that would take effect in two years or so. The legislation would pre-empt state labeling laws but Congress cannot act quickly enough to prevent Vermont’s first-in-the-nation law from taking effect on July 1.
“Our marketplace — both consumers and producers — needs a national biotechnology standard to avoid chaos in interstate commerce,” said Agriculture chairman Pat Roberts of Kansas. A Roberts aide said there was no immediate timeline for action on the bill written by Roberts and Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, the senior Democrat on the committee.
Several of the largest U.S. food companies — ConAgra, General Mill, Mars, Kellogg, Campbell Soup and Dannon — are putting “made with GMOs” labels on their products nationwide to ensure compliance with the Vermont law. The state says it will allow a six-month grace period.
The Roberts-Stabenow bill could face a rocky road ahead. After months as a minor issue, GMO labeling abruptly became a partisan matter in March, when Democrats, on a party-line vote, derailed a Roberts bill to pre-empt state law and keep labeling voluntary at the federal level. For months, Stabenow said mandatory disclosure was the price of state pre-emption. The House passed a pre-emption bill last summer by a land-slide margin that also would keep labeling voluntary.
“The Senate needs to pass this bill quickly,” said the Grocery Manufacturers Association. The trade group is an ardent promoter of so-called smart labels that use QR codes and digital networks to disclose information about food. It says 500 products from three dozen companies are part of its SmartLabel network and “thousands more products are likely to be added in the next several weeks.”
Labeling advocates said there were too many loopholes in the Roberts-Stabenow bill, especially its provisions allowing companies to use a symbol or a QR code. “This proposal falls short of what consumers rightly expect — a simple, at-a-glance disclosure on the package,” said the Just Label It campaign. Food and Water Watch said the Senate should defeat the bill.
The largest U.S. farm group, the American Farm Bureau Federation, said it opposed mandatory labeling as “not necessary for health or safety reasons.” Farm groups and foodmakers have said special labels on GMO foods will be misinterpreted as a warning to consumers and will smear agricultural biotechnology.
Almost all of the U.S. corn, soybeans and sugar beets are GMO varieties, so almost any processed food will include GMO ingredients. Half of U.S. cropland is planted with GMO seeds.
Under the proposal, USDA would have two years to set up a GMO labeling system that allows use of text, a symbol or a digital link to disclose the GMO content. Small companies would be given an additional year to begin labeling and could use websites or telephone banks to disclose GMOs. Restaurants and similar establishments, as well as very small foodmakers, would be exempt.
Although labeling would be mandatory, USDA would not have the power to recall food that was not labeled. “This goes back to what we’ve said all along — this is a marketing problem, not a safety problem,” said a Roberts spokeswoman.
While the Senate is scheduled to meet next week, the House is in recess for the Independence Day holiday, obviating any chance of overnight passage of a GMO bill. House Agriculture chairman Michael Conaway, Texas Republican, said, “Unfortunately, due to Sen. Stabenow dragging this process out for months, Congress will not be able to act before Vermont’s mandatory labeling law goes into effect on July 1.”
In statements, Roberts and Stabenow said their legislation will cover a wider range of foods than the Vermont law. Stabenow said it also ensures that organic farmers and ranchers can use a non-GMO label as well as the USDA organic seal on their products. Both senators said their bill would avert the possibility of conflicting state label laws.