Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, has introduced a bill to develop a national labeling standard for foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that would pre-empt any state laws. Roberts scheduled a meeting to be held on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 10 a.m. to consider the bill, though this meeting was later postponed until next week. The bill would establish a national voluntary GMO labeling standard to be developed by USDA within two years of the bill’s enactment. The House passed a similar bill, HR 1599, last year.
GMO labeling has been a controversial topic in recent months. Opponents of a national labeling standard argue consumers have the right to know what ingredients are in their food and how they are sourced, often dubbing these laws DARK acts or the “Deny Americans the Right to Know Act,” which they say are anti-democratic. Vermont, Connecticut and Maine have all passed legislation requiring the mandatory labeling of foods containing GMOs.