Monday, January 20, 2014

Maine becomes second state to require GMO labels

FILE - In this June 26, 2013 file photo, Gov. Paul LePage speaks to reporters shortly after the Maine House and Senate both voted to override his veto of the state budget, at the State House in Augusta, Maine. The Republican governor's clash with Democratic lawmakers over whether to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act ended with the governor's veto - and a vow by Democrats to try again. The story, one of several quarrels between the GOP governor and Democratic-controlled Legislature, was voted the top story of 2013 in Maine in a survey by The Associated Press and its member news organizations in Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File) Maine Gov. Paul LePage in June 2013.   (Robert F. Bukaty/AP)
Maine will become the second state to require labels on food that contains genetically modified ingredients under new legislation signed by Gov. Paul LePage (R) this week — but only after other states follow suit.
LePage signed the legislation, initially introduced by a Republican state representative, over the objections of agriculture giants who produce many of the raw ingredients that go into everyday foods.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that about 70 percent of the food products sold in supermarkets contain genetically modified ingredients, the Portland Press-Herald reported.
But shoppers in Maine won’t see those GMO labels slapped all over grocery stores any time soon. The legislation doesn’t go into effect until five nearby states, including New Hampshire, pass similar labeling laws. New Hampshire’s legislature will take up a similar measure during its legislative session this year.
That provision was necessary, the bill’s backers said, to build a broad base of support. It’s similar to a provision in a GMO labeling bill passed by Connecticut’s legislature, signed into law last month by Gov. Dannel Malloy (D), which won’t take effect until a combination of Northeastern states that add up to 20 million residents pass similar legislation.
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