Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is unwavering in his support of digital disclosure as the way to handle GMO food labeling. “If you create an on-package label, you could potentially give consumers the mistaken impression that this is unsafe to consume,” Vilsack told Politico. Congress needs to resolve the debate, he said in an interview. “The key here is getting a national standard that everybody can follow so the industry knows precisely what it has to do, but recognizes that folks want to know. They want more information, so let’s provide them information.”
Without a national standard, Vilsack told Politico, food companies will face additional costs to change labels and distribution channels to comply with a potential welter of state and local regulations or grocers will find it hard to stock a variety of goods. At present, processors have to worry about only one state, Vermont, whose labeling law takes effect on July 1.
Like farm-state lawmakers, Vilsack said labeling traditionally either provided nutritional information or a safety warning. “It’s something different,” Vilsack said, to want the label to show how a food was produced.
Also during the Politico interview, Vilsack said “there is better alignment” now of public health goals and farm policy, particularly on obesity.
The Q&A was part of an issue of The Agenda, a Politico publication, devoted this month to food policy. It is available here.