Vermont Governor Signs Bill Requiring Labeling of GMO Seeds

Rutland Herald and Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus:

Top Story:
Douglas signs nation's first GMO labeling law - Apr. 27, 2004

By Darren M. Allen
VERMONT PRESS BUREAU

MONTPELIER - Gov. James Douglas Monday made Vermont the first state to
require manufacturers of genetically modified seeds to label and
register their products.

The measure was one part of a three-pronged agricultural legislative
package that also includes a bill that would make changes to water
pollution rules for large farms and alter the state's right-to-farm
law.

While the governor wasn't an enthusiastic supporter of the labeling
legislation, he promised to sign it along with the other measures as a
package.

"I've lived up to my end of the bargain," the governor said in a brief
telephone interview. "I said I would support all of the elements on the
table."

Under the bill, seeds that are genetically altered or engineered must
be labeled as such after Oct. 1. Seed manufacturers must report their
total sales in the state to the Secretary of Agriculture every Jan. 15.

The amount of genetically altered crops grown in Vermont is not
precisely known, as the only data comes from seed manufacturers on a
voluntary basis. Estimates last year by state officials pegged the
figure at anywhere between 20 percent and 40 percent - or more or less,
according to Bayard Littlefield, coordinator of the Vermont Genetic
Engineering Action Network.

"The people who are opposed to this technology are pleased that the
governor has signed this measure into law," she said.

She praised the new law's distinction between genetically altered
seeds and hybrid seeds, and said the governor should be commended for
listening to the hundreds of people who have descended on Montpelier
during the legislative session.

The bill arrived on the governor's desk last Friday evening. Although
he had five business days under the state constitution in which to sign
or veto the measure, he decided to use his pen Monday. "The calendar is
dictating this," Douglas said.

His swift action on the measure took some of the bill's most ardent
supporters by surprise.

"This is great news," said Amy Shollenberger, policy director of Rural
Vermont. "I'm really encouraged that he went ahead and signed it right
away. It's a great first step for Vermont to enact this right-to-know
bill."

The bill's journey into law has been a twisted, years-long adventure.
Last year, the Senate became the first legislative chamber in the
country to pass a measure requiring seed manufacturers to register and
label their genetically modified products. That measure was fiercely
fought by seed manufacturers for years, who said it was unnecessary and
counterproductive.

That bill died in the House last year, only to be resurrected several
months ago as part of a nasty political skirmish in the House
Agriculture Committee. The bill became a bargaining chip between
Democrats intent on passing some type of legislation on genetically
modified crops and Republicans eager to pass changes to the state's
right-to-farm and large-farm laws.

Late last month, the labeling and registration bill made it out of the
committee, as did the two other agriculture measures amid promises that
all three issues would receive a full airing in both chambers.

The House quickly passed the labeling bill without much debate and
sent it to the Senate, which also passed the measure. The other two
measures - sought by the Douglas administration - were combined into a
single bill, and quickly sent to the Senate by the House. The Senate
Agriculture Committee, meanwhile, has taken the House measure and
watered it down, essentially asking state agriculture officials to work
with farmers to find ways to mitigate water pollution on farms with
more than 200 cows. The committee also stripped most of the measure's
right-to-farm language.

Douglas said the Senate's alteration of the farm bill is not
acceptable. "What the House passed was a good compromise, and it is
important that we enact a good, strong farm bill," the governor said.
"What the Senate Agriculture Committee is proposing is little more than
a study. The time for study is over, and the time for action is now."

Contact Darren Allen at darren.allen@timesargus.com or
darren.allen@rutlandherald.com