Dive Brief:
- In the Idaho House, a non-binding memorial to Congress won support concerning GMO labeling legislation on the state level. Per the memorial, a federal law would pass that would block states’ ability to pass their own laws requiring GMO labeling.
- The memorial says that GMO foods are “as safe to eat and grow” as non-GMO versions, and Rep. Pete Nielsen (R-Mountain Home) argues that, “It’s always labeled, so you don’t have to buy it,” as reported by The Spokeman-Review.
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed limits on how many GMO corn crops farmers can plant as they try to take care of a massive infestation of the rootworm, some of which have evolved to be unaffected of the bug-resistant GMO corn strains.
Dive Insight:
The Wall Street Journal reports that the rootworm is one of the most expensive U.S. corn crop killers and is a pest that "costs U.S. corn farmers about $1 billion to $2 billion in damages and outlays to thwart the insect, according to Michael Gray, an entomologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.” While the threat to U.S. farmers is real, biotech seed companies are faced with this threat as well, as companies like Monsanto Co., Dupont Co., and Dow Chemical Co. are some of the major suppliers of this type of bug-resistant corn.
As for potential federal legislation regarding GMO labeling laws, what could happen to the states that have already passed such legislation, including Maine and Connecticut (which aren't going into effect just yet, still pending actions from other states), or where legislation is currently involved in a heated debate, such as Vermont, Hawaii County, and other regions and levels of government?
In Oregon, two bills were introduced that would enforce where GMO crops could be planted due to GMO contamination of non-GMO crops. However, those bills have not seen widespread support just yet.