Farm cooperatives council applauds passage of GMO labeling bill

The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives released a statement on the passage of S. 764, the GMO food labeling bill, in the House of Representatives in July.

“Today’s House vote — along with yesterday’s White House announcement that President [Barack] Obama intends to sign the bill — is a tremendous victory for American farmers, co-ops and consumers. This bill will ensure that there will be no 50 state patchwork of labeling laws. It will give grocery shoppers access to more information than ever before about how the food that they purchase was produced. And it will provide producers and their co-ops with certainty as they make marketing decisions for the current crop and as they look forward to making planting decisions for next year’s.”

The passage of S. 764 was due in large part to the dedication of Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway (R-TX) and Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-MN) as well as Reps. Mike Pompeo (R-SC) and GK Butterfield (D-NC) who introduced the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act last year. Sens. Pat Roberts (R-KS), chairman of the Agriculture Committee, and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) also contributed.

“A final key to getting to this point has been the unity displayed across the food and agriculture value chain. The Coalition for Safe and Affordable Food has brought together a remarkable, diverse group of organizations and has shown what can be accomplished by working together towards a common goal," the statement said. "We look forward to moving from the legislative to the implementation phase on this issue and will continue providing input as the U.S. Department of Agriculture begins the rulemaking process.”