Formerly a proponent of mandatory labeling, the National Farmers Union now supports voluntary labeling, said president Roger Johnson. The change in policy was approved by delegates at the NFU annual convention a week ago. Johnson said staff workers were compiling the final version since language on the issue appeared in several documents. “I think we still have a lot of language about concerns and consumer right to know,” said Johnson.
Delegates from Plains states, where row-crop farming in dominant, out-voted representatives from states where fruits, vegetables and organic farming are more prevalent, said The Hagstrom Report, which was first to report the change. It said conventional producers, to assure victory, invoked rules so that each state’s vote was proportional to its NFU membership. Oklahoma and North Dakota, where farmers are likely to grow GMO corn, soybeans, canola and sugarbeets, have the largest membership by far, said the Hagstrom Report.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell could announce today whether a vote will be called this week on a bill to pre-empt states from requiring special labels on food made with genetically modified organisms. Labeling is voluntary on the federal level. The Senate is scheduled for a two-week recess beginning on Friday, and backers of the pre-emption bill view this week as an informal deadline to resolve the issue.
Agriculture Committee chairman Pat Roberts was negotiating with senators in hopes of securing at least 60 votes — enough to quash a filibuster — for his pre-emption bill, which also would put the USDA in charge of certifying if foods are GMO or non-GMO. The Agriculture Committee approved the bill, 14-6, but Democrats said revisions were necessary before the bill would have enough bipartisan backing to pass. Republicans control the Senate, 54-46. The senior Democrat on the committee, Debbie Stabenow, says labeling must be mandatory nationwide. Oregon Democrat Jeff Merkley filed a bill to give companies flexibility in carrying out mandatory labeling.
“The move to create a national GMO labeling standard comes as Vermont prepares to become the first state in the nation to implement its own rules for labeling. And, the issue has been a hot-button one in several states, including Colorado, in recent years,” said the Greeley Tribune.