Stabenow Statement on Roberts Voluntary GMO Labeling Proposal

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, released the following statement upon the release of an updated GMO food labeling bill released by Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS). The Senate is set to vote on this proposal with limited debate and amendments as soon as this week.

“Unfortunately, the Roberts proposal is nothing more than the status quo for consumers who want information about the food they are purchasing,” Stabenow said. “I believe that if the federal government is going to take away states rights, we have the obligation to create a national system of disclosure that provides information to consumers in an easily accessible way.   

“To be clear, I support the use of biotechnology in agriculture,” Stabenow continued. “Biotechnology is solving challenges faced by our farmers and our world. And it is important that any federal policy reflect that reality.

“It's time to provide certainty to our food manufacturers and end this contentious debate by simply creating a national policy for commonsense disclosure of genetically modified ingredients. Unfortunately this bill does not do that and I am disappointed that we have not been able to come to consensus on how to best resolve this issue.”

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