Today, with a 14-6 vote, the Senate Agricultural Committee advanced a GMO labeling bill that would block Vermont, and any other state, from enacting GMO labeling laws in the good ole U.S. of A. The bill’s sponsor, Kansas Senator Pat Roberts (R), had this to say on the Ag Committee’s website —
“This is really a conversation about a few states dictating to every state the way food moves from farmers to consumers in the value chain…
This patchwork approach of mandates adds costs to national food prices. In fact, requiring changes in the production or labeling of most of the nation’s food supply for a single state would impact citizens in each of our home states. A recent study estimates that the cost to consumers could total as much as $82 billion annually—approximately $1,050 per hardworking, American family.
Let me repeat that: the cost to consumers could total as much as $82 billion annually—approximately $1,050 per hardworking, American family.
Now is not the time for Congress to make food more expensive for anyone – not the consumer, nor the producer.”
Senator Roberts tells one side of the GMO labeling story
Powerful words… almost as powerful as the glaring omission of a key fact — Campell’s just declared that they will be labeling their products in the USA at a whopping $0 cost to consumers. As we reported over at The Walk a Mile Project in GMO TRUTH #8, the House of Representatives chose to focus on stats that supported their anti-labeling bill, like Senator Roberts just did at the committee meeting today. Not America’s finest hour.
On the flip side in the Senate, Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy begged to differ with Roberts’ opinion, saying that this bill would “move production methods into the shadows” and “give agriculture a black eye.” He also added, “The legislation undermines the public’s right to know.”
More on this later in the week as the story progresses…
To read the rest of the story, visit:
http://thehill.com/regulation/healthcare/271282-gmo-labeling-bill-clears-senate-hurdle
To read the full text of Senator Roberts opening statement, click here:
http://www.agriculture.senate.gov/newsroom/rep/press/release/senate-agriculture-committee-passes-chairmans-mark-on-biotechnology-labeling-solutions-
Or view the meeting in its entirety here:
http://www.agriculture.senate.gov/hearings/biotechnology-labeling-solutions-markup
