MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP)–General Mills’ announcement on Friday that it will start labeling products that contain genetically modified ingredients to comply with a Vermont law shows food companies might be throwing in the towel, even as they hold out hope Congress will find a national solution.
Tiny Vermont is the first state to require such labeling, effective July 1. Its fellow New England states of Maine and Connecticut have passed laws that require such labeling if other nearby states put one into effect.
The U.S. Senate voted 48-49 Wednesday against a bill that would have blocked such state laws.
The food industry is holding out hope that Congress will prevent states from requiring such labeling. Some companies say they plan to follow Vermont’s law, while others are considering pulling their products from the small state.
“This shows that the United States has the capacity to join the 64 other countries that already require GMO labeling,” Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin said Friday. “I urge other companies to follow the lead of General Mills and extend this right to their customers nationwide as well.”
A 2014 Associated Press-GfK poll found that 66 percent of Americans supported labeling of genetically modified food.
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