On July 1, a new Vermont regulation kicked in, requiring simple text labels on foods — even those prepared or packaged in the stores — made with genetically modified (GMO) ingredients. Then on July 29, President Obama signed into a law a bill that overturns the Vermont rules and will eventually (maybe) create a national standard for GMO labeling, leaving Vermont supermarkets unsure of what they should do about all the stuff they just started labeling. [More]
gmo labeling
Would You Scan A QR Code At The Supermarket To Read More About Food?
By 8.3.16
Last, the president signed into law a fast-tracked piece of legislation that both overturned existing state laws about labeling of food with genetically modified ingredients and established a vague timeline for eventually putting this information on barcodes that customers can scan with their phones. The question is: Will anyone actually do this? [More]
President Signs Law That Overturns Vermont GMO Labeling Rules, Replaces Them With Barcodes
By 7.29.16
Earlier this month, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell fast-tracked a controversial piece of legislation aimed at overturning and preempting state laws for labeling foods made with genetically modified ingredients. The Senate passed the bill without going through committee or debate, and then the House okayed it without changing a word. Now comes confirmation from the White House that President Obama has signed the legislation into law. [More]
Congress Passes Bill Outlawing Vermont’s GMO Labels, Replacing Them With Barcodes
By 7.14.16
After skipping over the entire debate and amendment process the Senate, and then going virtually un-discussed in the House of Representatives, a last ditch effort to overturn Vermont’s new food labeling requirement is destined for the President’s desk. [More]
Federal GMO Labeling Bill Opens More Loopholes Than It Closes
By 7.12.16
When a pair of agribusiness-funded Senators introduced last-minute, fast-tracked legislation to outlaw Vermont’s new labels for foods containing genetically modified ingredients, they claimed that their new national standard would close the so-called “pepperoni pizza loophole” in the Vermont rules — referring to a confusing clause that would apply the labeling rule to frozen cheese pizza, but not to pizza with any meat toppings. However, a look at the federal bill that was fast-tracked through Congress and appears to be destined for a quick vote by the House, shows that the legislation creates more loopholes than it closes. [More]
Senate Approves Bill To Outlaw Vermont GMO Labels, Replace Them With Barcodes
By 7.8.16
Even though some of the nation’s largest food producers — including General Mills, PepsiCo, Campbell Soup, Mars Inc., Bimbo, and Nestle — have already updated their packaging to comply with Vermont’s new labeling requirement for foods containing genetically modified (GMO) ingredients, these tiny lines of text may be short lived. Last night, the U.S. Senate voted to approve legislation that will not only outlaw Vermont’s labeling requirement, but eventually (maybe) replace these text labels with something as obscure as a barcode. [More]
Vermont’s GMO Labeling Law Is Now In Effect. Here Are The Labels The Senate Is Trying To Get Rid Of
By 7.1.16
It’s July 1, 2016, which means that Vermont’s controversial rules for labeling certain products containing genetically modified ingredients (GMOs) is now in effect. With both the supermarket industry and agribusiness-backed Senators trying to defeat this law in court and on Capitol Hill, we took a field trip to Vermont this morning to see just what the labels look like in the real world. [More]
Coca-Cola Will Pull Some Products From Shelves In Vermont Instead Of Adding GMO Labels
By 6.29.16
The date when food items that contain ingredients from genetically engineered plants or animals must be labeled to be sold in Vermont is almost here, and lawmakers haven’t managed to strike down the law yet, so food companies will have to print or add the information to items shipped to Vermont. Or they could do what Coca-Cola plans, and not ship the items for a while. [More]
Senators Trying To Strike Down Vermont GMO Labeling Law At Last Minute
By 6.27.16
Two years ago, Vermont became the first state to pass a law requiring clear disclosures of foods containing genetically modified/engineered ingredients. A number of packaged food giants — including PepsiCo, Mars Inc., General Mills, and Campbell Soup Co. — have already made the decision to label their products on a nationwide basis in advance of the July 1 start of the new rules. With that deadline approaching, a pair of agribusiness-backed senators have introduced legislation that would kill the Vermont law, prevent other states from enacting similar regulations, and give companies two years to create a label with little to no information. [More]
Pepsi, Frito-Lay Quietly Adding GMO Ingredient Labels To Some Foods
By 5.11.16
Whether or not you agree with mandatory labeling for foods containing genetically modified or genetically engineered ingredients, the Vermont law requiring this information on food sold in that state will go into effect on the first of July. Some companies — including Mars, Campbell Soup, and General Mills — have announced decisions to implement these labels nationwide, while PepsiCo appears to be quietly putting labels on its products. [More]
Mars Will Also Label Its Products With GMO-Related Info
By 3.21.16
Following the recent failure of a Senate bill that would have made it voluntary for companies to label genetically modified ingredients, another packaged food biggie is agreeing to hop on the GMO-labeling bandwagon. This time, it’s snack superpower Mars Inc. [More]
General Mills Will Label GMO Products; Calls For National Labeling Standard
By 3.18.16
Earlier this week, the Senate narrowly shot down a piece of legislation that would have created a voluntary national standard for labeling food products containing genetically modified ingredients while also overturning any state laws mandating GMO labels. With that bill dead, it means Vermont’s label mandate is on track to kick in this summer, so General Mills has decided to comply, while still calling for national consensus. [More]
Senate Votes Down Bill That Would Have Overturned States’ GMO Labeling Laws
By 3.16.16
Regardless of whether you’re against, for, or ambivalent about genetically modified foods, surveys show that an overwhelming majority of Americans at least want to know whether the items they buy contain genetically engineered ingredients, and some states have enacted laws intended to require labeling of GMO and GE products. Today, the U.S. Senate voted to strike down a new piece of legislation that would have overturned these local laws in favor of a voluntary labeling program. [More]
