Dive Brief:
- After a failed preliminary injunction attempt in a federal court last week, the Grocery Manufacturers Association is fighting to appeal that decision.
- According to The Hill, the judge in charge of the injunction hearing said in a statement that "irreparable harm is the 'single most important prerequisite for the issuance of a preliminary injunction,' but the industry groups had 'only identified the possibility of harm.'"
- The Center for Food Safety aims to maintain its position and fight against these food organizations for states' rights to mandate GMO labeling.
Dive Insight:
The GMA and other food companies' and organizations' beef with GMO labeling laws has several points to it, including that these laws would "disrupt food supply chains, confuse consumers and lead to higher food costs," GMA president Pamela Bailey said in a press release. On the other hand, supporters of GMO labeling laws point to safety concerns, which Bailey calls "pseudo-science and web-fed hysteria." The Center for Food Safety notes that 64 other countries already have such laws in place, The Hill reports.
Legislative proposals regarding GMO labeling have popped up throughout the country, including Massachusetts, Alaska, and Idaho, among others.This issue is arguably the most hot-button debate in the U.S. food industry at the moment, and the back-and-forth from state to state sees no sign of slowing as of yet.