Vermont Passes Bill Requiring Labeling of Genetically Modified Foods

Vermont passed a law Wednesday requiring the labeling of foods with genetically engineered (GE) ingredients.

According to The New York Times, 93 percent of Americans want genetically modified foods to be labeled. As the first state to do so, Vermont is setting the example by keeping its citizens informed of what they are putting into their bodies.

"This is a historic day for the people's right to know," Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety, an advocacy group that helped draft the Vermont legislation, said in a statement.

The Vermont bill says genetically modified foods "potentially pose risks to health, safety, agriculture, and the environment," according to the The Associated Press. Having the gift of foresight, Vermont included in the bill $1.5 million for implementation and defense against lawsuits expected from the food and biotech industries.

The House voted in favor of the bill 114-30, and it will go into effect July 1, 2016.

More than 90 percent of the nation's corn, soy, canola and sugar beets - from which the bulk of the nation's sugar is derived - are grown from transgenic seeds, a related Times article reported. The Grocery Manufacturers Association has estimated that some 80 percent of foods found in grocery stores contain ingredients made from such crops.

Products containing ingredients like canola oil, soy lecithin, dextrose and sorbitol would qualify as GE, and have to be labeled under the Vermont law.

Governor Peter Shumlin, who previously had reservations about the bill, now applauds it.

"There is no doubt that there are those who will work to derail this common-sense legislation," he said in a statement. "But I believe this bill is the right thing to do and will gain momentum elsewhere after our action here in Vermont."

Other states may be following suit sooner rather than later. Connecticut passed a law requiring labeling last June - contingent on several requirements - and Maine passed a similar law last year.