Vermont sued over GMO law

MONTPELIER, Vt. – The Grocery Manufacturers Association and other industry groups challenged a new Vermont law in federal court Thursday that requires the labeling of food made with genetically modified organisms.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Burlington, had been expected since Gov. Peter Shumlin signed the state’s GMO labeling law last month, making Vermont the first in the nation to require the labeling.

The suit asks a judge to overturn the law and describes it as “a costly and misguided measure that will set the nation on a path toward a 50-state patchwork of GMO labeling policies that do nothing to advance the health and safety of consumers.” The lawsuit claims that food made with GMOs is safe and says the Vermont law exceeds the state’s authority under the U.S. Constitution.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has ruled that food from genetically modified plants is not materially different from other food. But critics of GMO foods consider them environmentally suspect and a possible health threat.

Maine and Connecticut also have adopted GMO label laws, but their laws require neighboring states to follow suit before their requirements go into effect. New York lawmakers are working on a GMO labeling bill, as well.