Vermont Sets the Standard
Montpelier — General Mills’ announcement on Friday that it will start labeling products that contain genetically modified ingredients to comply with a Vermont law shows food companies might be giving up the fight against labels, even as they hold out hope Congress will find a national solution. Tiny Vermont is the first state to require such labeling, effective July 1. Its fellow New England states of Maine and Connecticut have passed...
Industry Pushes GMO Label Halt
Washington — Food companies are mounting an aggressive year-end push to head off mandatory labeling of genetically modified foods. The food industry wants the labeling to be voluntary, and it hopes to get a provision in a massive spending bill that Republicans and Democrats want to wrap up this week. If that becomes law, states could not require companies to disclose whether their products contain genetically modified organisms, or...
U.S. House Votes to Repeal Country-of-Origin Labeling Law for Meats
Washington — The U.S. House of Representatives voted last week to repeal country of origin labeling laws meant to allow consumers to know where animals in beef, poultry and pork products were born, raised and slaughtered. The rules led to protests to the World Trade Organization from Canada and Mexico, which feared discrimination. The meat packing industry also opposed the rules, saying they imposed expensive, unnecessary...
U.S. Producers Fear Retaliation Over Labeling Law
Washington — California ranchers and their Capitol Hill allies are scrambling to peel away a country-of-origin labeling law they fear will hurt the state. Facing potentially punishing tariffs on U.S. wine, apples, cherries and more, after a World Trade Organization ruling against the United States’ labeling requirements for beef and pork, the Californians are mobilizing. They face, though, Midwestern resistance as well as a history of...
