The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) said yesterday that it has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the new Vermont law requiring the labeling of products containing GMOs. The suit has been joined by the Snack Food Association, International Dairy Foods Association and the National Association of Manufacturers.
The statement announcing the suit reads, in part:
"Vermont’s mandatory GMO labeling law – Act 120 – is a costly and misguided measure that will set the nation on a path toward a 50-state patchwork of GMO labeling policies that do nothing to advance the health and safety of consumers. Act 120 exceeds the state’s authority under the United States Constitution and in light of this, GMA has filed a complaint in federal district court in Vermont seeking to enjoin this senseless mandate … The Constitution prohibits Vermont from regulating nationwide distribution and labeling practices that facilitate interstate commerce. That is the sole province of the federal government."
The statement announcing the suit reads, in part:
"Vermont’s mandatory GMO labeling law – Act 120 – is a costly and misguided measure that will set the nation on a path toward a 50-state patchwork of GMO labeling policies that do nothing to advance the health and safety of consumers. Act 120 exceeds the state’s authority under the United States Constitution and in light of this, GMA has filed a complaint in federal district court in Vermont seeking to enjoin this senseless mandate … The Constitution prohibits Vermont from regulating nationwide distribution and labeling practices that facilitate interstate commerce. That is the sole province of the federal government."
- KC's View:
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I agree completely that a national standard is a far better way to go … and I look forward to the day when GMA decides to spend some of the money it has spent lobbying and advertising and doing battle against state GMO rules, and devotes it to some sort of national GMO labeling law. But that ain't gonna happen….
Until, that is, we get to the point when retailers have to face down manufacturers in this issue. Because that's what a lot of retailers tell me they think will happen … that they inevitably will take the side of their shoppers, and shoppers want transparency.
