New food labeling act passes U.S. House of Representatives

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Published: Thursday, 23 July 2015 22:34

INDIANAPOLIS - The U.S. House of Representatives Thursday (July 23) pass a new food labeling act.

Indiana Farm Bureau president Don Villwock issued the following statement on behalf of the organization in response to the House action:

"Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1599, the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act, by an overwhelming bipartisan vote.  Its adoption is a good first step toward a national, science-based labeling law that eliminates the confusion created by a patchwork of mandatory state labeling laws.

"The safety and benefits of biotechnology are proven. The Food and Drug Administration, American Medical Association, National Academy of Sciences and World Health Organization have all confirmed that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are as safe for human consumption as their non-GMO counterparts. 

"In addition, GMOs enable farmers to be better stewards of the environment, allowing us to grow more crops on less land while using fewer pesticides and less water.

"Mandatory labeling of safe products that contain genetically modified material does a disservice to both producers and consumers, raising costs, creating confusion and generating fear.

"Indiana Farm Bureau thanks those in our congressional delegation who looked past the activist rhetoric and voted in favor of a fair and common sense approach to food labeling: Reps. Walorski, Stutzman, Rokita, Brooks, Messer, Bucshon and Young. 

"We especially thank Reps. Rokita and Messer for embracing this issue early on and helping to shepherd it through the process to this point.

"We encourage both Senator Coats and Senator Donnelly to support the Senate version of the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act when it reaches their chamber in September.