Dive Brief:
- Food Policy Action offers a scorecard and other resources to help manufacturers and consumers to hold their elected representatives accountable for their stances on food policy.
- Users can click a state on a map of the U.S. to see scores showing how strongly representatives have promoted food policy through votes for food and beverage-related legislation and bills they have sponsored and co-sponsored.
- The scorecard can be searched by state, chamber and party affiliation, and it includes data and rankings dating back in 2011.
Dive Insight:
Food policy may have been relatively absent from the presidential campaign so far, but it's still critical to many voters when they select leadership. From GMO labeling to new Nutrition Facts requirements, food and beverage legislation directly impacts voters' trips to the grocery store and what will be included on product labels.
Consumers with an opinion on current federal law or bills lawmakers are considering can use the Food Policy Action scorecard to see their representatives' voting and legislative record and make a decision from there. The scorecard lists legislative actions, but it does not look at campaign contributions from food industry interests.
Experts told Food Dive that food policy doesn't tend to be as divisive along party lines as other issues, such as welfare or reducing the national debt. But according to Food Policy Action's scorecard, Democratic candidates tend to have higher rankings than Republicans, based on their voting histories. However, the national GMO labeling standard passed earlier this year demonstrates how bipartisan food policy can be — and often how important it is for that legislation to be supported by both sides or risk failure.