Sanders says he’ll try to block Senate GMO bill

More fallout from Vermont’s GMO labeling law.

The Senate blocked the bill in March. But Grassley, an opponent of the Vermont law, says it’s unlikely the senate will vote on a bill until this fall.

“This is not a labeling bill; it is a non-labeling bill”, said Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety, in a statement. This approach leaves poorer Americans at a disadvantage in receiving this information, as QR code labels require the use of a smartphone to read.

The bill would require genetically modified labeling on packaged foods nationwide, with text label, a symbol or an electronic label, according to a story by The Associated Press. A food could only bear a disclosure that it was bioengineered consistent with regulations issued under the proposed law. A request to preliminarily enjoin the law remains pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. “It would impose no penalties for violating the labeling requirement, making the law essentially meaningless”. Foods where meat, poultry and egg products are the main ingredient are exempted.

“I am a constituent and I care about my right to know what is in the food I eat”.

Contains loopholes that would allow food containing a significant amount of genetically engineered ingredients to not carry labels. They worry that because most GMO crops are sprayed with glyphosate herbicide, which the World Health Organization has declared a probable human carcinogen, that GMO foods might contain unsafe levels of that pesticide. The corporate consolidation of seed supply raises ethical concerns as well.

Kellogg Co, Campbell Soup Co and Mars Inc. previously announced that they would bow to the Vermont law and begin labeling their products for GMOs. This is a significant logistical and technological barrier for consumers. But Stabenow defended the deal.

Worse, the deal would bar states like Vermont from passing real mandatory labeling laws, just when major food companies are beginning to comply with Vermont’s new law.

Consumers are increasingly wary of scientifically altered ingredients, but food companies say the scientific consensus is that GMOs are safe. There have been differing reports about when the Senate might take up the proposal, and the House of Representatives has adjourned until July 5.

“This does not give a consumer-friendly label”, Sen. “That’s the only way they’ll make this fly”, Kelly said. I will do everything I can to defeat this bill, beginning by putting a hold on it in the Senate.