Bill would establish federal labeling standard for GMO products

Check out the GMO talking points

A Republican congressman has introduced a bill that would establish a federal labeling standard for food and beverage products made with genetically modified ingredients (GMOs).

The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act would establish the Food & Drug Administration as the sole authority on food safety and labeling requirements. The goal of the bill is to override more than two dozen proposed state bills that would require foods made with genetically engineered crops be labeled that way.

“GMOs are perfectly safe and America’s farmers rely on this proven technology to protect our crops from insects, weeds and drought. Important food safety and labeling decisions should be made by the scientists and qualified policymakers at the FDA, not political activists and campaigns,” said Martin Barbre, president of the National Corn Growers Association.

The legislation was introduced by Mike Pompeo (R-Kansas) and co-sponsored by Reps. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Jim Matheson (D-Utah) and Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.).

Over the last few years, a considerable amount of time and money has been spent fighting state-based GMO labeling initiatives. The concern is that having a patchwork of state labeling regulations will mislead consumers, raise the price of groceries for U.S. families and do nothing to ensure food safety.

The bill would require the FDA to approve all new GM ingredients before they are brought to market and would set a federal standard for the labeling definition of “natural” foods.

More than 30 groups have joined the Coalition for Safe and Affordable Food to support federal legislation to address the proliferation of state initiatives.

GMO technology benefits consumers in the United States and around the world. With global population expected to grow from 7 to 9 billion by 2050, American food producers will need 70 percent more food production to keep pace. GMOs enable America’s food producers to use their farm land more efficiently, withstand crippling droughts and ward off disease or pestilence while reducing their use of pesticides and chemicals.

Facts about GMOs

• Many of the most influential regulatory agencies and organizations that study the safety of the food supply, including the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, the American Medical Association, the World Health Organization, Health Canada, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Academy of Sciences, have found GMOs are safe and there are no negative health effects associated with their use.
• GM technology adds desirable traits from nature, without introducing anything unnatural or using chemicals, so that food is more plentiful.
• GM technology is not new. In fact, it has been around for the past 20 years, and today, 70-80 percent of the food consumed in the United States, both at home and away from home, contain ingredients that have been genetically modified.
• Ingredients grown using GM technology require fewer pesticides, less water and keep production costs down. In fact, GM technology helps reduce the price of crops used for food, such as corn, soybeans and sugar beets by as much as 15-30 percent.
• The U.S. federal policy on food labeling says it must be “truthful and not misleading”. Foods containing biotech ingredients are compositionally the same as conventionally produced foods; distinguishing them with a special label would mislead consumers by falsely implying they are different.
• Establishing a “zero” tolerance for biotech material is biologically not possible. Even the organic standard allows for the incidental presence of biotech material. Enforcement provisions could lead to litigation against farmers and food businesses.

For more information about the Coalition for Safe Affordable Foods, as well as the need for a federal labeling standard, visit http://www.cfsaf.org/. More talking points can be found here and at http://www.gmoanswers.com/.