SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Victory: Connecticut Becomes First State to Require GMO Labeling
Food safety advocates hope Connecticut's move sparks nationwide momentum for labeling of genetically modified foods
Jun 04, 2013
In a landmark act, Connecticut has become the first state to require the labeling of genetically modified (gmo) foods.
The gmo labeling bill overwhelmingly passed in the House in a 134 - 3 vote on Monday.
As the Hartford Courant reports, the bill entails a sort of trigger in order for it to take effect:
For the legislation to take effect four states -- including those bordering Connecticut -- must pass a similar bill. In addition, any combination of northeastern states (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania or New Jersey), with an aggregate population of at least 20 million people, must approve labeling legislation.
Immediately after the vote, cheers could be heard outside the Hall of the House from advocates who had been pushing the labeling requirement.
The Center for Food Safety (CFS) said the trigger "unnecessarily puts on hold what consumers and lawmakers have already validated as important legislation," but still welcomed the passage of the legislation as a victory in the food movement, and hoped Connecticut's action would prove a catalyst for other states to enact similar measures.
Mark Kastel, co-director of the Cornucopia Institute, told the New York Times that the trigger may not be entirely negative.
"The hurdles in the Connecticut bill, if surmounted, would mean a critical mass in the marketplace that would emulate the impacts that would have materialized if California had passed its ballot initiative," said Kastel.
Dave Murphy, founder and executive director of Food Democracy Now!, cheered the bill's passage as a victory of people power over corporate agriculture, saying, "The grassroots have won in Connecticut for a key victory over Monsanto and the biotech lobby."
"It was inspiring to watch Connecticut legislators supporting GMO labeling stand strong in the face of the biotech industry's effort to kill the bill," said Murpy.
"Numerous other states in the Northeast and around the country are actively considering pending GE food labeling bills. Connecticut's leadership provides momentum and an incentive for these other states to move forward," Rebecca Spector, who works on state GMO labeling legislative efforts at CFS, said in a statement. "Other states should now pass GE labeling laws, providing millions of U.S. consumers with the basic right to know how their food is produced."
The legislation now heads to Gov. Malloy, who is expected to sign it.
_________________________
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
In a landmark act, Connecticut has become the first state to require the labeling of genetically modified (gmo) foods.
The gmo labeling bill overwhelmingly passed in the House in a 134 - 3 vote on Monday.
As the Hartford Courant reports, the bill entails a sort of trigger in order for it to take effect:
For the legislation to take effect four states -- including those bordering Connecticut -- must pass a similar bill. In addition, any combination of northeastern states (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania or New Jersey), with an aggregate population of at least 20 million people, must approve labeling legislation.
Immediately after the vote, cheers could be heard outside the Hall of the House from advocates who had been pushing the labeling requirement.
The Center for Food Safety (CFS) said the trigger "unnecessarily puts on hold what consumers and lawmakers have already validated as important legislation," but still welcomed the passage of the legislation as a victory in the food movement, and hoped Connecticut's action would prove a catalyst for other states to enact similar measures.
Mark Kastel, co-director of the Cornucopia Institute, told the New York Times that the trigger may not be entirely negative.
"The hurdles in the Connecticut bill, if surmounted, would mean a critical mass in the marketplace that would emulate the impacts that would have materialized if California had passed its ballot initiative," said Kastel.
Dave Murphy, founder and executive director of Food Democracy Now!, cheered the bill's passage as a victory of people power over corporate agriculture, saying, "The grassroots have won in Connecticut for a key victory over Monsanto and the biotech lobby."
"It was inspiring to watch Connecticut legislators supporting GMO labeling stand strong in the face of the biotech industry's effort to kill the bill," said Murpy.
"Numerous other states in the Northeast and around the country are actively considering pending GE food labeling bills. Connecticut's leadership provides momentum and an incentive for these other states to move forward," Rebecca Spector, who works on state GMO labeling legislative efforts at CFS, said in a statement. "Other states should now pass GE labeling laws, providing millions of U.S. consumers with the basic right to know how their food is produced."
The legislation now heads to Gov. Malloy, who is expected to sign it.
_________________________
In a landmark act, Connecticut has become the first state to require the labeling of genetically modified (gmo) foods.
The gmo labeling bill overwhelmingly passed in the House in a 134 - 3 vote on Monday.
As the Hartford Courant reports, the bill entails a sort of trigger in order for it to take effect:
For the legislation to take effect four states -- including those bordering Connecticut -- must pass a similar bill. In addition, any combination of northeastern states (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania or New Jersey), with an aggregate population of at least 20 million people, must approve labeling legislation.
Immediately after the vote, cheers could be heard outside the Hall of the House from advocates who had been pushing the labeling requirement.
The Center for Food Safety (CFS) said the trigger "unnecessarily puts on hold what consumers and lawmakers have already validated as important legislation," but still welcomed the passage of the legislation as a victory in the food movement, and hoped Connecticut's action would prove a catalyst for other states to enact similar measures.
Mark Kastel, co-director of the Cornucopia Institute, told the New York Times that the trigger may not be entirely negative.
"The hurdles in the Connecticut bill, if surmounted, would mean a critical mass in the marketplace that would emulate the impacts that would have materialized if California had passed its ballot initiative," said Kastel.
Dave Murphy, founder and executive director of Food Democracy Now!, cheered the bill's passage as a victory of people power over corporate agriculture, saying, "The grassroots have won in Connecticut for a key victory over Monsanto and the biotech lobby."
"It was inspiring to watch Connecticut legislators supporting GMO labeling stand strong in the face of the biotech industry's effort to kill the bill," said Murpy.
"Numerous other states in the Northeast and around the country are actively considering pending GE food labeling bills. Connecticut's leadership provides momentum and an incentive for these other states to move forward," Rebecca Spector, who works on state GMO labeling legislative efforts at CFS, said in a statement. "Other states should now pass GE labeling laws, providing millions of U.S. consumers with the basic right to know how their food is produced."
The legislation now heads to Gov. Malloy, who is expected to sign it.
_________________________
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.