Posted May 8, 2014
Kraft Foods Group Inc. and other food companies are facing the prospect of a state law requiring labeling for products containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs), according to an article by Bloomberg available here.
Vermont’s Governor, Peter Shumlin, has vowed to sign a GMO food labeling bill today, May 8, saying that residents deserve to know what‘s in their food.
The legislation would make Vermont the first state to enact mandatory labeling of foods made with GMO ingredients. Other states have passed similar laws, but they will not take effect until neighboring states also pass laws requiring labeling. Vermont’s bill is the first of its kind with no trigger clause.
“This is a big deal for the industry,” Nicholas Fereday, an analyst at Rabobank International in New York said in a note this week. “This issue has started to move center-stage and will continue to gain momentum and prominence.”
The law would take effect in July 2016 and could trigger the laws in neighboring states like Connecticut and Maine.
Kraft, Monsanto, DuPont, and others have argued against labeling laws, saying they would increase food manufacturing and retail costs for processors and grocers. Hillshire Brands Co. Chief Executive Officer Sean Connolly says that if the labels are going to be required, he would prefer federal regulations.
“If you put yourself in the shoes of a manufacturer, it’s not a practical concept,” said Connolly. “You can’t have customized labels state by state. That would dramatically drive up the cost to consumers even higher, which is certainly not in their best interest when there’s nothing wrong with the ingredients to begin with.”
For more information on food labeling, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here
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