by Anne Galloway May 27, 2013 vtdigger.org The Vermont House of Representatives was the first legislative body in the nation to move ahead with a proposal requiring the labeling of all genetically engineered foods this spring, and a number of other states are considering labeling legislation, but it looks like a congressional mandate could be a long way off.
Monsanto, a company that has been in the forefront of genetic modification of food, has threatened to sue Vermont over the legislation.
The U.S. Senate rejected an amendment from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., last week that would have put a similar requirement in place nationwide. The vote was 27-71.
‘Monsanto and other major corporations should not get to decide this, the people and their elected representatives should,’Sanders said in a statement.
David Rogers of Politico reported that the Democratic leadership in the Senate is more sympathetic to labeling. A year ago both Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Chuck Schumer, D-NY, voted against a similar proposal. This time they both changed their votes in support of Sanders’amendment.
According to Maplight, a national nonpartisan research website, found that companies that support the use of genetically engineered crops donated $1.2 million to Senate Political Action Committees from 2009 through March of this year.
Fifty-four countries require labeling, according to Sanders. France, Peru, Ireland, Japan and Egypt have banned the import and export of genetically modified food.
US Senate overwhelmingly rejects Sanders’ proposal to label GMO foods
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