Illinois Farm Bureau President says state-by-state laws would create problems
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
President of the Illinois Farm Bureau Richard Guebert says national GMO labeling laws are needed to prevent widespread uncertainty.
According to the Pantagraph, during a news conference at the Illinois Farm Bureau office in Bloomington, Guebert said allowing each state to design its own labeling laws would “be just basically utter chaos, confusion and a logistical nightmare for the manufacturers and food industry.”
"If we are going to feed nine billion people by 2050, we need to use all the production reseources and technology we have."
Guebert isn't alone in his support of national GMO labeling requirements.
At the same news conference, U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis said that science has provided evidence showing the safety of GMOs and the issue isn't about safety, but marketing.
The debate on mandatory national vs. state-by-state voluntary GMO labeling stems to a bill introduced by Kansas Senator Pat Roberts.
His bill, S.2609, would’ve allowed states to create different labeling practices, but it was blocked on March 16 after it narrowly failed to receive the 60 necessary votes.
Vermont is currently on the clock as the state is set to put its GMO labeling law into effect on July 1.
One main issue with states created their own labeling laws is that farmers may be forced to overhaul their planting decisions based on what’s being grown, who it’s being sold to and consumer concerns.