Dive Brief:
- Idaho sugar beet farmers requested that local agricultural groups pursue legislation that would ban mandatory GMO labeling, though that request is not likely to amount to anything.
- Organizations like the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation have their own concerns about this legislation, as they feel it could bring negative attention to Idaho agriculture.
- Local ag groups, while intent to discuss GMO labeling, will not likely move forward with actual legislation. “While supportive of the subject, the agriculture industry was concerned it could engender some controversy,” says Duane Grant, chairman of the Snake River Sugar Co.
Dive Insight:
Idaho is just one of many states to join in the GMO labeling debate. But here it's a bit different, as it's farmers who have come forward with an anti-GMO labeling initiative in this case. In other states, like Rhode Island, Vermont, Oregon, and Hawaii, GMO labeling laws have been more consumer-driven and pro-GMO labeling, though they have all been fought by anti-labeling supporters with varying success.