Two weeks before Vermont’s first-in-the-nation GMO food-labeling law takes effect, a member of Canada’s Parliament proposed mandatory labeling of GMO foods, a step that was proposed fruitlessly in the past. Meanwhile, in Washington, leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee said they were making progress on U.S. labeling legislation.
The Canadian bill was proposed by a Quebec legislator, Pierre-Luc Dusseault, of the New Democratic Party, said Commodity New Service Canada. The NDP says polls show 90 percent of Canadians support GMO labeling. A citizen-initiated digital petition is circulating in the House of Commons to oppose labeling.
The Des Moines Register quoted Senate Agriculture chairman Pat Roberts as saying “We are still negotiating and I think we’re getting much closer” on U.S. legislation. To head off the Vermont law, a deal would have to be agreed and passed by both chambers of Congress by the end of next week. The House is scheduled to be in recess during the final week of this month. Lawmakers usually need weeks or months to reach consensus on legislation and pass it.
Farm groups and foodmakers want Congress to pre-empt state labeling laws; labeling is voluntary under FDA guidelines. Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, the senior Democrat on the Agriculture Committee, says any pre-emption bill must include mandatory nationwide disclosure of GMO ingredients. Pro-label groups want explicit wording on each product made with GMOs.