Milling & Baking News - March 31, 2015 - 13

Business

Bill seeks to avoid patchwork of
state G.M.O. labeling laws
WASHINGTON - A bill that was to
be introduced March 25 in the U.S.
House of Representatives includes
a provision for national, voluntary
non-G.M.O. labeling of products,
and would proscribe state mandatory
G.M.O. labeling laws. Under the bill
the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
which already runs the National Organic Program, would accredit the
certification process for voluntary
non-G.M.O. labeling.
The bill's supporters, including
industry groups, and the bill's opponents, including those who favor mandatory bioengineered/G.M.O. labeling laws, disagreed about how the bill
would affect consumers' understanding of labels.
"The potential for a 50-state patchwork of varying label standards
would increase costs for producers
and translate into higher prices for
consumers to the tune of more than
$500 per year for the average family,"
said Representative G.K. Butterfield
of North Carolina. "This bill would
provide clear rules for producers and
certainly for consumers at the grocery
store checkout lane."
Mr. Butterfield and Representative
Mike Pompeo of Kansas were to reintroduce the Safe and Accurate Food
Labeling Act of 2015, which preserves
and affirms the Food and Drug Administration's role in food safety,
Mr. Pompeo said. While Mr. Pompeo
originally introduced the bill in 2014,
the reintroduction contains the provision for non-G.M.O. labeling.
"We took the positive feedback we
received after our hearing in December (2014) and have been meeting
with key stakeholders to ensure this

is the right policy for both producers
and consumers," Mr. Pompeo said.
"Our goal for this legislation remains
to provide clarity and transparency
in food labeling, support innovation
and keep food affordable."
Pamela G. Bailey, president and
chief executive officer of the Washington-based Grocery Manufacturers
Association, urged Congress to pass
the bill this year.
"No matter where they live or

Butterfield

Pompeo

shop, all Americans deserve to have
access to consistent, understandable
information about the food they are
eating, and this federal legislation
would eliminate consumer uncertainty created by a state-by-state patchwork of labeling laws, advance food
safety, inform consumers and provide
consistency in labeling," she said.
The Washington-based Center for
Food Safety, however, said critics of
the bill call it the DARK Act (Deny
Americans the Right to Know Act).
The Center for Food Safety said the
bill may confuse consumers. When
consumers see products voluntarily
labeled as non-G.M.O., they may
believe all products not bearing the
label are bioengineered, even when
some are not.
The Center for Food Safety added
that besides preempting the rights
of states to pass their own laws

NAWG hires legislative director
WASHINGTON - Joshua Tonsager
has been named legislative director
for the National Association of Wheat
Growers, the Washington-based association said March 16. He will lead
NAWG's government affairs team.
Mr. Tonsager previously was a
legislative assistant in the office
of former Senator Tim Johnson of
South Dakota where he worked on
such issues as agriculture, trade,
economic development and appropriations. He received a bachelor of
business administration degree from
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

the University of South Dakota.
"Joshua's knowledge of the issues
affecting agriculture and his legislative experience in Washington will
position him well to represent the
policy interests of our member growers," said Jim Palmer, chief executive
officer of the NAWG. "The future for
the wheat industry and the National
Association of Wheat Growers is
bright, and I believe Joshua will be
an integral part of this future success.
We are pleased to welcome him to the
wheat family." MBN

regarding bioengineered food labeling, the measure would limit the authority of the F.D.A. to compel labeling, codify the current voluntary labeling standard and create a pathway
that would allow food companies to
label bioengineered food "natural."
"This bill is simply not the solution Americans are looking for," said
Andrew Kimbrell, executive director
at the Center for Food Safety. "An
overwhelming majority of American consumers want to know if their
food has been produced using genetic engineering. That is their right,
and they will not relent until Congress or the F.D.A. heed their call."
The Center for Food Safety instead
favors the Genetically Engineered
Food Right-to-Know Act introduced
Feb. 12 by Senator Barbara Boxer of
California and Representative Peter
DeFazio of Oregon. The bill would
require the F.D.A. to label bioengineered foods so that consumers can
make informed choices, according to
the Center for Food Safety.
The Center for Food Safety cited
a report conducted on behalf of
the Consumers Union. The report
showed the median increased cost
of mandatory bioengineered food
labeling was less than a penny per
day per person, or less than $3.65
per year.
Several food industry groups favored the March 25 bill that included
the non-G.M.O. labeling provision.
"We have heard loud and clear
the message that consumers want to
know what's in their food, and we
agree completely that this information should be easily available to
them," said Wade Cowan, a farmer
in Texas and president of the American Soybean Association, St. Louis.
"At the retail level, though, consumers who want to choose non-G.M.O.
foods have to contend with an increasingly confused landscape of different labeling schemes with different
requirements. This bill would end
confusion for consumers over which
food products do not contain biotech
ingredients by establishing a national
standard for non-G.M.O. labels."
Connie Tipton, president and c.e.o.
of the International Dairy Foods Association, Washington, said, "To enable the free flow of interstate commerce and to more easily provide
consumers with the information they
are looking for, it is essential that we
have a federal system of labeling
laws rather than a state-by-state approach." MBN
Milling & Baking News

March 31, 2015 / 13

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Milling & Baking News - March 31, 2015

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