header image

[Sign Up Now] to Receive Our FREE Daily SCVTV-SCVNews Digest by E-Mail

Inside
Weather


 
Calendar
Today in
S.C.V. History
November 21
1967 - Local voters approve formation of community college and elect COC's first five-member board - Dr. William G. Bonelli Jr., Bruce Fortine, Sheila Dyer, Peter Huntsinger, Edward Muhl [story]
COC board


U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer

U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer

U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., introduced the Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act on Wednesday – bipartisan legislation that would require the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to clearly label genetically engineered (GE) foods so that consumers can make informed choices about what they eat.

“Americans have the right to know what is in the food they eat so they can make the best choices for their families,” Senator Boxer said. “This legislation is supported by a broad coalition of consumer groups, businesses, farmers, fishermen and parents who all agree that consumers deserve more – not less – information about the food they buy.”

“When American families purchase food, they deserve to know if that food was genetically engineered in a laboratory,” Representative DeFazio said. “This legislation is supported by consumer’s rights advocates, family farms, environmental organizations, and businesses, and it allows consumers to make an informed choice.”

“American consumers have made it clear that they want to be empowered to make choices about the food they eat. This legislation will deliver the transparency every American deserves by providing clear labeling standards for food containing genetically engineered ingredients,” said Senator Gillibrand.

“This is a common sense approach to ensuring that American consumers know more and make more informed decisions about the foods they eat,” Senator Blumenthal said. “As an advocate for consumers’ rights and ally of many groups supporting this measure, I want to make sure the food industry gives consumers the full story about what they put on their dinner tables. Consumers deserve to have clear, consistent, and accurate facts about the food products they purchase. More information is always better than less.”

“Alaskans deserve to know what’s on their dinner plate, especially if it might come from a science lab. Labeling Genetically Engineered food should be a no-brainer which is why I’m pleased to join my colleagues on this bill to make sure consumers are fully informed when they make choices at the grocery store,” said Senator Begich.

“American families shouldn’t have to play a guessing game when it comes to the food they put on their kitchen tables,” Senator Tester said. “Consumers have a right to know what’s in their food, and this bill gives them the tools they need to make informed decisions about the foods they choose.”

“All over this country people are becoming more conscious about the foods they are eating and the foods they are serving to their kids. This is certainly true for genetically engineered foods,” Senator Sanders said. “I believe that when a mother goes to the store and buys food for her child she has the right to know what she is feeding her child.”

“Oregonians want to know what is in their food, and they should have the right to find out,” said Senator Merkley. “Labeling is the common sense way to bring more transparency to consumers.”

According to surveys, more than 90 percent of Americans support the labeling of genetically engineered foods. In fact, many consumers are surprised to learn that GE foods are not already labeled.

Currently, the FDA requires the labeling of over 3,000 ingredients, additives and processes, but the agency has resisted labels for genetically modified foods. In a 1992 policy statement, the FDA allowed GE foods to be marketed without labeling, claiming that these foods were not “materially” different from other foods because the genetic differences could not be recognized by taste, smell or other senses.

Unfortunately, the FDA’s antiquated labeling policy has not kept pace with 21st century food technologies that allow for a wide array of genetic and molecular changes to food that can’t be detected by human senses. Common sense would indicate that GE corn that produces its own insecticide – or is engineered to survive being doused by herbicides – is materially different from traditional corn that does not. Even the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has recognized that these foods are materially different and novel for patent purposes.

Consumers – who are used to reading labels to see if foods contain MSG, trans fats, high fructose corn syrup or aspartame – clearly want more information. More than one and a half million Americans have filed comments with the FDA urging the agency to label GE foods.

The bipartisan legislation introduced today would require clear labels for genetically engineered whole foods and processed foods, including fish and seafood. The measure would direct the FDA to write new labeling standards that are consistent with U.S. labeling standards and international standards.

Sixty-four countries around the world already require the labeling of GE foods, including all the member nations of the European Union, Russia, Japan, China, Australia and New Zealand.

This legislation follows last year’s letter from Senator Boxer, Representative DeFazio and 54 Senate and House lawmakers urging the FDA to require the labeling of GE foods.

Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mark Begich (D-AK), Jon Tester (D-MT), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) are cosponsors of the Senate bill. Representatives Jared Polis (D-CO), Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Donna Christensen (D-Virgin Islands), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Peter Welch (D-VT), James Moran (D-VA), Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Don Young (R-AK), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Gerry Connolly (D-VA), George Miller (D-CA), David Cicilline (D-RI), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Ann Kuster (D-NH) are cosponsors of the House bill.

 

Comment On This Story
COMMENT POLICY: We welcome comments from individuals and businesses. All comments are moderated. Comments are subject to rejection if they are vulgar, combative, or in poor taste.
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.

No Comments

    Leave a Comment


    SCV NewsBreak
    LOCAL NEWS HEADLINES
    Thursday, Nov 21, 2024
    Dec. 7: The 29th Annual Winter Magic Lighted Boat Parade
    Celebrate this special time of year with the 29th annual Winter Magic Lighted Boat Parade and holiday event Saturday, Dec. 7 at Castaic Lake, Lower Lagoon.
    Wednesday, Nov 20, 2024
    Hope for the Holidays with Boys & Girls Club of SCV
    You can make a difference in a child or teen’s life this holiday season through the Boys and Girls Club of the Santa Clarita Valley. You can volunteer at a club holiday event, host a toy drive, sponsor a club family or make a donation.
    Wednesday, Nov 20, 2024
    SCV Water Works on Permanent Water Supply for LARC Ranch, Lily of the Valley
    SCV Water recently reached several important milestones to bring the Agency one step closer to constructing a permanent water supply for Los Angeles Residential Community and Lily of the Valley Mobile Village.
    Keep Up With Our Facebook

    Latest Additions to SCVNews.com
    The Santa Clarita Master Chorale presents its Silver Bell Jubilee concert Sunday, Dec. 8, 4 p.m. at Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center, 26455 Rockwell Canyon Road, Santa Clarita, CA 91355.
    Dec. 8:  Santa Clarita Master Chorale Presents Silver Bell Jubilee
    The holiday season is just around the corner and it’s one of the most magical times of the year.
    Mayor Cameron Smyth | Experience Holiday Cheer on the Tracks
    Celebrate this special time of year with the 29th annual Winter Magic Lighted Boat Parade and holiday event Saturday, Dec. 7 at Castaic Lake, Lower Lagoon.
    Dec. 7: The 29th Annual Winter Magic Lighted Boat Parade
    1967 - Local voters approve formation of community college and elect COC's first five-member board - Dr. William G. Bonelli Jr., Bruce Fortine, Sheila Dyer, Peter Huntsinger, Edward Muhl [story]
    COC board
    You can make a difference in a child or teen’s life this holiday season through the Boys and Girls Club of the Santa Clarita Valley. You can volunteer at a club holiday event, host a toy drive, sponsor a club family or make a donation.
    Hope for the Holidays with Boys & Girls Club of SCV
    Art, in whatever the medium, can communicate so much. It can inspire imagination, exude peace and calm, or tell the world the stories of a community and a culture or connect on an extremely personal level.
    Kalli Arte Collective to be CSUN’s First Orndorff Artist-in-Residence
    The city of Santa Clarita invites community members to attend the unveiling of the newest inductees to the Walk of Western Stars.
    Nov. 23: New Honorees Inducted into Walk of Western Stars
    Supervisor Kathryn Barger commented on Attorney General Rob Bonta’s announcement that he is pursuing additional monitoring and strengthened protections for youth in Los Angeles County’s juvenile halls.
    Barger on Protections for Youth in Juvenile Halls
    Every day for decades, NASA satellites have been collecting data about oceans and continents around the world.
    CSUN Students ExamNASA Data on Climate Change
    Kick off your holidays with a night to remember with the Santa Clarita Symphony Orchestra.
    Dec. 8: Santa Clarita Symphony Orchestra Presents Holiday Classics
    Music possesses power. It brings people together, stirs emotions and has ability to heal in the form of music therapy. 
    CSUN Music Therapy Program Produces Successful Music Therapists for 40 Years
    SCV Water recently reached several important milestones to bring the Agency one step closer to constructing a permanent water supply for Los Angeles Residential Community and Lily of the Valley Mobile Village.
    SCV Water Works on Permanent Water Supply for LARC Ranch, Lily of the Valley
    Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Missing Person Unit is advising At-Risk Missing Person, Susan Lynn Emrick, has been located.
    Update: LOCATED LASD Seeks Public Help to Find At-Risk Missing Newhall Woman
    1831 - Local entrepreneurs Sanford and Cyrus Lyon (as in Lyons Avenue) born in Machias, Maine [story]
    Sanford Lyon
    The holiday season is a time for joy, generosity and community spirit. This year, the Child & Family Center invites you to join its heartwarming effort to bring extra cheer to Santa Clarita Valley teens in need.
    Spread Holiday Cheer: Support SCV Teens with Child & Family Center
    The non-profit Rancho Camulos Museum and National Historic Landmark will host a fundraising event, "Early Hollywood and its Camulos Connection" featuring Marc Wanamaker on Sunday, Dec. 8 at 2 p.m.
    Dec. 8: Presentation on Early Hollywood, Rancho Camulos Connection
    William S. Hart Union High School District Social Worker Sarah Gilberts was named California’s 2024 State Social Worker of the Year at an awards ceremony on Nov. 8, part of the 2024 National Association of Social Workers-CA Annual Conference.
    Hart District Sarah Gilberts Named 2024 California Social Worker of the Year
    SCV Water recently marked the completion of its third PFAS treatment facility, which serves its Santa Clara and Honby wells and is located north of Soledad Canyon Road on Furnivall Avenue, with a ribbon cutting on Tuesday, Nov. 19.
    SCV Water Celebrates PFAS Groundwater Treatment Facility with Ribbon Cutting
    Caltrans, the California Highway Patrol, the Office of Traffic Safety and the Department of Motor Vehicles have joined together as part of Crash Responder Safety Week Nov. 18-22 to remind drivers to move over when safe to do so and slow down near traffic incidents and work zones to prevent serious injuries and deaths on California’s roadways.
    Nov. 18-22: Crash Responder Safety Week
    Every holiday season the Michael Hoefflin Foundation for Children’s Cancer assemblies gift baskets for families battling pediatric cancer.
    MHF Seeks Donations for Holiday Gift Baskets
    Family Promise of Santa Clarita Valley opened its new resource center, Williams Hope House in Newhall on Tuesday, Nov. 12 with a formal ribbon cutting ceremony.
    Family Promise of SCV Opens Resource Center
    The California Highway Patrol has announced a major achievement in its ongoing recruitment efforts as it officially swears in 121 new officers, bringing the department past its goal of hiring over 1,000 officers.
    CHP Marks Milestone with 1,000 New Officers
    The installation of the 2025 Valley Industry Association Board of Directors will be held Friday, Dec. 13, 11:45 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook University Center.
    Dec. 13: VIA 2025 Board Installation
    Single Mothers Outreach's Adopt-A-Family was born in hopes of providing hard-working single parents a way to make a warm and wonderful holiday memory with their children. AAF connects a generous individual, corporate community, or groups with deserving families in need. Many local businesses, churches, community groups, neighbors and individuals generously have “adopted” SMO parents and their children, providing them with gifts, ice-skating, parties and more.
    Single Mothers Outreach Adopt-A-Family Donation Drive
    SCVNews.com