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Mike Pompeo

Mandatory GMO food labeling by states would be banned under proposed bill

Christopher Doering
USATODAY
Jeff Weinstein, managing partner of Two Guys of Vermont, photographed at the Hunger Mountain Co-op in Montpelier, Vt., on April 11, 2012, is in favor of labeling genetically modified food.

WASHINGTON — A bill preventing states from requiring labels on foods containing genetically modified ingredients easily passed a House committee Tuesday, but the legislation has drawn widespread opposition from many Democrats and consumer groups and faces an uncertain future.

The voice vote by the House Agriculture Committee marks the first time a panel has acted on the measure, initially introduced during the last Congress by Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan. While a vote on the House floor is expected later this month, it is unclear whether the Senate will consider the bill.

The Pompeo legislation would ban states from adopting individual labeling laws and override any that are in place, instead giving food manufacturers the option to voluntarily tout their chips, soups, cereals and other items as lacking the ingredients.

"Consumers increasingly want to know more about where their food comes from and how it is produced," Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota, the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, said of the voluntary approach. This bill "satisfies that demand while also recognizing what we know about the safety of the food that our farmers produce."

The House bill also would allow companies to label their products as GMO-free by applying to the Agriculture Department — a process similar to the popular "USDA organic" labeling initiative. The Food and Drug Administration would then review the safety of a product before it enters the marketplace, putting into law a process that is currently voluntary but widely used by food companies.

Vermont last year became the first state to require mandatory labeling, starting in 2016. The law has been challenged in court by the Grocery Manufacturers Association and other groups. Connecticut and Maine have both passed laws to require labeling, but they have yet to take effect. More than a dozen other states are considering similar oversight.

Scott Faber, a vice president of government affairs at the Environmental Working Group, which opposes Pompeo's bill, said the Agriculture Committee's vote amounted to a "last-ditch, last-gasp dead end." He expressed doubt that a similar bill, which has not been introduced in the Senate as GOP leaders have struggled to find a Democratic sponsor, would gain any traction in the chamber this year.

"The real fight has always been in the Senate," Faber said. "There are many senators on both sides of aisle who are loath to rob states of a long-standing power to inform their consumers."

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said he was confident there would be enough support to introduce a bill, but it would need backing from Democrats. "That's absolutely necessary if we're going to get a bill through the United States Senate," Grassley told reporters.

As much as 80% of packaged foods contain ingredients that have been genetically modified, according to the Grocery Manufacturers Association. The group represents more than 300 food and beverage companies, including Kellogg and PepsiCo. More than 90% of U.S. corn and soybean crops are grown using genetically modified seeds.

The food industry argues a state-by-state labeling framework is confusing and leads to higher costs that get passed on to shoppers. It also has said mandatory labeling implies to the public that the ingredients are in some way unsafe. The FDA and other scientific organizations have said there is no difference between genetically modified foods and their traditional counterparts.

But consumer groups and lawmakers who oppose the bill say the public increasingly wants to know what is in the foods they eat, and Pompeo's bill would deny them that right.

"It doesn't matter if you think GMOs are terrific or whether you hate them, I think we all should be able to agree that the American people ought to get what they want, to know what is in their food," said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass. "It makes me nervous when I hear from some in the industry who keep pushing back against labeling. It's like, what are they trying to hide?"

Follow @cdoering on Twitter.

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