I received a request the other day from my friends at MoveOn.org urging me to donate money to support the State of Vermont's legal defense fund to defend their recently passed law that requires foods to be labeled if they are produced with genetic engineering. Although the e-mail from MoveOn stated that Monsanto has filed a lawsuit challenging the law, the lawsuit filed two weeks ago in Vermont does not name Monsanto directly, but was filed by the following four organizations: the Grocery Manufacturers Association; Snack Food Association; International Dairy Foods Association; and, the National Association of Manufacturers.
Foods containing genetically engineered ingredients have been sold in the United States since the 1990s. In May of this year, Vermont became the first state in the nation to unconditionally requiring labeling of food that is partially or entirely produced with genetic engineering. The law is set to take effect in July 2016. Maine and Connecticut have also passed labeling laws, but they do not go into effect until other states enact similar laws. I don't know what the passage of the Vermont law means for these two states.
The lawsuit comes as no surprise. Vermont's Attorney General Bill Sorrell said prior to enactment of the law "I think it's very likely that we would be sued, very likely" 1 In anticipation of such challenges, lawmakers included a legal defense fund, now named "Food Fight" in the bill." Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream has shown its support by renaming its Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream "Food Fight Fudge Brownie" during the month of July and will donate $1.00 for every one that is sold at its Burlington and Waterbury stores (watch B & J video.)
Foods containing genetically engineered ingredients have been sold in the United States since the 1990s. In May of this year, Vermont became the first state in the nation to unconditionally requiring labeling of food that is partially or entirely produced with genetic engineering. The law is set to take effect in July 2016. Maine and Connecticut have also passed labeling laws, but they do not go into effect until other states enact similar laws. I don't know what the passage of the Vermont law means for these two states.
I wonder the usefulness of such labeling for the consumer since, according to the Christian Science Monitor, 85% of corn and 91% of soybeans sold in the United States are genetically modified and 75% of processed foods sold in grocery stores contain ingredients that are genetically modified.2 Will it be meaningless, or will it push consumers to demand Non-GMO products, thus leading to changes in production from manufacturers such as Ben and Jerry's which has a goal of 100 percent of their products being GMO free by the end of the year?
1 WCAX.com, February 7, 2014
2 Christian Science Monitor, June 13, 2014
I would like to know more about the specific health hazards of GMO and the repercussion to our planet.
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