CT HOUSE APPROVES LANDMARK LEGISLATION ON GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS

Rep. James Maroney (D-Orange, Milford) hailed the historic passage of legislation to label genetically modified foods. The legislation was approved by the House of Representatives early this morning. “"I was honored to be there to see the good work that former Representative Richard Roy started. This legislation will give consumers the right to know what is in their food, a right already enjoyed by more than 60 countries around the world. I am proud that Connecticut is the first state in our country to pass this legislation,” Rep. Maroney said. The bill requires the labeling of foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs). As Connecticut is leading the charge on this issue, the legislation sets in place several safeguards to ensure we are not the only state to require labeling – thus potentially impacting local businesses. The legislation was amended to remove the bill’s “stand-alone” provision – meaning: • Five states must adopt similar labeling requirements before Connecticut would institute its GMO labeling requirement • At least two states with labeling requirements would need to be near Connecticut • The total population of the participating states must exceed 25 million Rep. Maroney was an early sponsor of the original GMO labeling proposal and cosponsor of this legislation as well. The amended legislation must be approved by the state Senate.