The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee today passed legislation that would establish a single national standard for labeling food made with genetically engineered ingredients.
The legislation, which already has passed the U.S. House of Representatives, still must be approved by the full Senate.
Supporters say the legislation will protect consumers and the U.S. food supply, while preventing a costly patchwork of state labeling mandates.
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“We couldn’t be happier with today’s vote and have full confidence that the full Senate will soon pass this legislation,” Claire Parker, spokesperson for the Coalition for Safe Affordable Food, says in a news release. “We see no major road bumps that will slow the momentum at our backs.”
Opponents say the legislation, which they’ve dubbed DARK, short for Deny Americans Right to Know, would deprive Americans of important information.
“The version of the DARK Act that passed the Senate Agriculture Committee today would rob Americans of their right to know what’s in their food,” Scott Faber of the Environmental Working Group says in a prepared statement. “Nine out of ten Americans want the same rights as consumers in Russia, China and more than 60 other nations that require mandatory GMO labeling.”
Agweek has an expanded look at the national legislation in the magazine’s March 7 print issue.
