Statewide GMO Labeling Initiatives Still Going Strong

Statewide GMO Labeling Initiatives Still Going Strong

Americans are increasingly in favor of more food labeling with an overwhelming percent of Democrats, Independants and Republicans in favor, according to the National Survey of Healthcare Consumers: Genetically Engineered Food published on Just Label It!

For more than 10 years, processed foods in the U.S. are made from genetically modified crops manipulated in laboratories. A movement to eliminate such ingredients in food has brought about awareness and posed questions regarding the negetive effects of biotechnology on human health and the environment. While some scientists say GMO doesn’t pose a threat to either, many state-initiatives bills and campaigns continue to try and reach legislation in an effort to mandate labeling at the federal level.

Washington and New Mexico are just two of the 30 states that are gaining ground on their current initiative to mandate labeling. But, with most of the remaining states also behind the movement through proposed bills and campaigns, the anti-GMO movement is far from over.

Arizona—GMO-Free Phoenix is a food activist group working to educate consumers on safe ingredients and increase the Non-GMO Tipping Point Network to see that the genetically modified foods and brands are put out of business.

Lobbying by big business killed New Mexico GMO Bill, say supporters

Lobbying by big business killed New Mexico GMO Bill, say supporters

Supporters of a New Mexico Senate bill proposing mandatory labeling for genetically engineered food and feed say they are disappointed it died on the Senate floor last week, but remain confident that other states’ GMO labeling initiatives will succeed. 

GMO labeling bill dead after committee report not adopted (updated) | New Mexico Telegram

GMO labeling bill dead after committee report not adopted (updated) | New Mexico Telegram

A bill that would require labeling of genetically modified organisms is dead for the year after the Senate failed to adopt the committee report of its passage from that committee.

The Senate voted to move the bill to another committee but it was a moot point. A majority of the Senate voted to not adopt the committee report and afterwards to move the bill to Senate Corporations and Transportation instead of the Senate Judiciary Committee as it was originally scheduled.

But the initial vote to not adopt the committee report resulted in the bill being “deemed lost,” which means it is for the year.

The bill’s sponsor Sen. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, announced the news on Twitter Thursday morning.

Peter Wirth @senatorwirth

SB 18 (gmo labeling) is dead. Under Senate Rules, action taken by Senate to reject SPAC committee report means bill "deemed lost." #nmleg

GMO labeling bill gets committee assignments moved | New Mexico Telegram

GMO labeling bill gets committee assignments moved | New Mexico Telegram

A bill that would require labeling of genetically modified organisms will no longer go to the Senate Judiciary Committee but rather the Senate Corporations and Transportation Committee.

The unusual moving of the bill happened during the usually-non controversial adoption of committee reports.
Senate Minority Stuart Ingle, R-Portales, threw the Senate into a loop when he asked that the committee report on the bill from the Senate Public Affairs Committee not be adopted and asked that the bill be sent to the Senate Corporations and Transportation Committee before being sent to the Judiciary Committee.

Ultimately, the Senate decided to place the bill in the Senate Corporations and Transportation Committee and remove it from the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Law Looks at Labeling GMO Ingredients

Food that contains genetically modified ingredients would have to be labeled as such under a proposed amendment to a New Mexico state law.

Sen. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, introduced an amendment to the New Mexico Food Act to address what he calls a "common-sense consumer information" issue. He spoke Friday in the Capitol Rotunda to a group of about 30 people supporting the initiative.

While officials in a number of other states have discussed similar proposals, New Mexico would be the first state to adopt such a law.

The labeling rule would apply to all food products that are offered for sale in the state and calls for the information to be "displayed in a manner that is conspicuous and easily understandable by the consumer."

Commercial feed for livestock that is composed of more than one percent of genetically modified materials also would require such a label.

Beverly Idsinga, executive director of the group, which represents about 150 dairies in the southern half of the state, said laws that allow for labeling of organic products already give consumers choice about food ingredients.

"I think it would actually raise food costs in New Mexico," Idsinga said of labeling genetically modified ingredients. "I don't think the larger companies would even sell to New Mexico anymore, just because the cost would be too high for them to have special labels on some of their products."

Idsinga said she believes that while genetically modified plants are viewed as bad by a certain segment of society, they are "still good for America because we have to feed so many more people with what we have now."