June 18, 2014. Multiple industry groups who represent the interest of U.S. food manufacturers have requested a federal judge in Vermont to address Vermont’s new law that seeks to mandate labels for food products containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs). This law is set to take effect on July 1, 2016.
Since the recent passage of a mandatory food labeling law by Vermont, which was the first state in the nation to pass such a law, many industry experts have been anticipating a legal challenge to the law. In anticipation of this legal challenge, Vermont established a “food fight fund” to pay for the expected costs.
The industry groups challenging Vermont’s labeling law are the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), the Snack Food Association, the International Dairy Foods Association and the National Association of Manufacturers. The industry groups claim that Vermont’s law is a "costly and misguided measure" that would impose burdensome new speech restrictions on food sellers and set the nation on a path toward a 50-state patchwork of GMO labeling policies that have "no basis in health, safety or science."
Continue to follow the GLF Ag Law Blog for up-to-date postings on the status of this ongoing litigation. For more information regarding the legal fight on mandatory food labeling laws, contact the Goosmann Law Firm at info@goosmannlaw.com or call 712-226-4000.