The GMO labeling bill
has passed USA Congress.
In August, bill became a law!
has passed USA Congress.
In August, bill became a law!
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by LimanGuerrilla |
U.S. Regulation of Genetically Modified Crops
Regulation of GM crops in the United States is divided among three regulatory agencies: the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Each of these agencies regulates transgenic crops from a different perspective.
FDA is responsible for regulating the safety of GM crops that are eaten by humans or animals. According to a policy established in 1992, FDA considers most GM crops as “substantially equivalent” to non-GM crops. In such cases, GM crops are designated as “Generally Recognized as Safe” under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) and do not require pre-market approval. If, however, the insertion of a transgene into a food crop results in the expression of foreign proteins that differ significantly in structure, function, or quality from natural plant proteins and are potentially harmful to human health, FDA reserves the authority to apply more stringent provisions of FFDCA requiring the mandatory pre-market approval of food additives, whether or not they are the products of biotechnology. [Source: fas.org]
So, the overall position of USA has been that GMOs were “substantially equivalent” to non-GM crops. Hence, non product labeling was required.
However, that seems to get changed .....
The controversial GMO labeling bill that just passed Congress
Many food manufacturers despised Vermont’s law; they’ve been pulling their products from the state’s shelves and lobbying Congress to stop the law. Their big complaint was that if states enact their own GMO labeling laws, it would create an unworkable "patchwork" of local rules.
Now we're close to a resolution of sorts. On July 7, the Senate voted 63-30 to pass a bill that would preempt state laws like Vermont’s and replace them with a single national GMO labeling standard. On July 14, the House approved the bill by a 306 to 117 vote.
The new bill will require all food manufacturers to disclose any GM ingredients in their products. But there’s a twist: Companies can place a disclosure directly on the package. Or, if they think those labels too inflammatory, they can instead offer a digital QR code on the package that consumers would have to scan with their smartphones to get information on GM ingredients (something few people tend to do).
The bill now just needs to be signed by President Obama — and the White House has already signaled that he will do so.
Various industry groups are pleased with the Senate's bill — since it eliminates the messy patchwork — but others on both sides of this issue are displeased. Pro-labeling groups think the QR codes will be too easily ignored and say this will kill off opportunities for stricter labeling in the future. Opponents of labeling, meanwhile, argue that the whole issue is ridiculous, given the ample science showing that GM foods are just as safe to eat as regular foods. Let’s take a look.
What does Congress's GMO labeling bill actually do?
- All food manufacturers will be required to disclose whether they use genetically modified ingredients in the products they sell in grocery stores.
- But those companies have a choice: They can either put a text statement or symbol directly on the food packaging itself indicating GM ingredients. Or, alternatively, they could include a digital QR code that customers would have to scan with their smartphone if they want to learn about GM ingredients.
- Smaller companies will also have a fourth option: offering a phone number or URL on the package that consumers can access for more info.
Now what counts as a "genetically engineered ingredient"? Here’s where things get tricky.
What gets labeled: The bill defines "bioengineering" to include any food that contains genetic material developed through recombinant DNA techniques — that is, the process of transferring genes from one organism to another. These are traits that would not otherwise occur in nature or through conventional breeding.
In theory, that should apply to a great many products. After all, 90 percent of corn and soy grown in the United States has been genetically engineered for pest resistance or herbicide tolerance (or both). And some 75 percent of processed foods in our stores typically contain at least one ingredient made with GM crops, such as high-fructose corn syrup or soy lecithin.
In addition, 90 percent of cheese in the US is made with genetically engineered rennet. (Scientists do this so that rennet doesn’t have to be harvested from the stomach lining of calves.) There are also a small handful of fruits and vegetables that have been genetically modified, such as disease-resistant papaya.
That said, there is a bit of ambiguity in the bill’s text. It technically says food has to "contain" modified genetic material, not simply come from a crop that’s been genetically modified. Why does that matter? Because many oils and sweeteners that come from GM crops no longer contain the specific modified DNA after they’ve been processed. The bill’s opponents worry those ingredients might be exempt. The bill’s backers, including Stabenow, say they won’t be. Ultimately, the US Department of Agriculture will have authority under the bill to decide this.
What’s exempted: The bill will not mandate labeling for any traits developed through RNA interference or through gene editing. These newer genetic engineering techniques are becoming increasingly popular since they don’t always fall under existing regulations. (Take, for instance, this white button mushroom that had a gene silenced via CRISPR to prevent browning.) The USDA says it does, however, have the authority to label such foods if deemed necessary.
The bill would also not require labeling for any animals raised on genetically engineered feed (such as soy or corn). And it excludes foods served in restaurants.
How did Vermont force Congress to take up GMO labeling?
Unlike the Senate bill, Vermont’s law exempted a whole slew of products, including cheese and various meat products. (Weirdly, any processed food that contained both a GM ingredient and meat was exempted under Vermont’s law; so a frozen cheese pizza might get labeled but a pepperoni pizza wouldn’t. The Senate bill would close this loophole.) But it still affected a huge portion of processed foods.
That left food manufacturers with a choice. It’s not easy to make separate labels just for one state. So companies could either add GMO labels to all of their products nationwide — as General Mills and Campbell’s Soup decided to do — or they could stop selling products in Vermont altogether.
Many companies chose the latter, including Coca-Cola and Pepsi. According to the Northfield News, Price Chopper in Vermont said they would no longer be offering products such as "Del Monte fruits, some Hostess products ... Sabra Hummus, some Heinz Ketchup, Sage Valley nuts, Bob Evans foods, Louisiana Fish Fry products, Sea Gold Seafood and some Starbucks products."
In the meantime, groups like the Grocery Manufacturers Association lobbied Congress to block Vermont’s law.
Suddenly, Congress could no longer ignore the issue. In March, Roberts tried to fast-track a bill through the Senate that would nullify Vermont’s law and make labeling purely voluntary nationwide. That was opposed by many Democrats and failed. So, more recently, Roberts worked across the aisle with Stabenow to arrive at a compromise.
The new bill aims for a mushy middle ground. There will be a single national standard and Vermont’s law will be void. Yet the digital QR code option gives food manufacturers the option of avoiding a glaring "contains GMOs" label on their packaging, which many feared would simply stigmatize a technology that poses no special risk to public health. (By contrast, many supporters of GMO labeling explicitly hope it will create a stigma around the technology.)
So what happens next?
Now that the bill has passed the Senate and House, the White House just to sign the bill into law. After that, the Department of Agriculture will work with food manufacturers on the exact design of both the labels on the packaging and the QR codes. Expect plenty of lobbying around those decisions, if it comes to that. [Source: Vox] ..... At the very beginning of August, President Barack Hussein Obama signed the bill, promoting it to a law!
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