Sponsors Hungry for Action on Bill Labeling Genetically Modified Food

Reintroduced measure draws bipartisan support, young backers, but businesses warn of financial, legal consequences

March 28, 2014 | Source: NJ Spotlight | by Andrew Kitchenman

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Food products made from common ingredients like soybeans may look and taste the same, but when their genetic code has been altered to make them more cost-efficient to grow, the food industry and activists are sharply divided.

That division is being made all the deeper by a bill that has been reintroduced this year, one that would require all genetically modified food in the state to be labeled as such.

“I think it’s very reasonable to know whether the food we are eating has been substantially altered genetically by the change of its chemical structure,” said Assemblywoman Linda Stender (D-Middlesex, Somerset and Union).

“People should be able to choose whether they want to be part of the largest human experiment on Earth,” she added.

The bill, S-91/A-1359, has gained bipartisan cosponsors, who describe it a pro-consumer measure. It is also being supported by student activists.

But food industry advocates say that genetically modified food has proven safe and that adding a label would mislead consumers into thinking that it is unsafe or inferior and would prove costly to consumers and the state. Other business groups are concerned that it would lead to consumer-liability lawsuits.

Bill sponsor Sen. Robert W. Singer (R-Monmouth and Ocean) discounts the possibility that the measure will add costs to businesses or the government, noting that European countries already require labeling for food.

In genetically modified food, genetic material from organisms like bacteria is inserted into the DNA of plants and animals to add a specific trait, such as making them resistant to herbicides.

“If we use the European standards, it would be fine,” Singer said, likening the bill to previous measures to include ingredients or allergy information on food labels.