Good news: the House of Representatives today passed the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act! The ballot proposal, which would create a voluntary federal labeling scheme, passed with a vote of 275-150.
If you’re trying to catch up, you can read my description of the Act here.
In response to the passage, Rep. Conaway, Chairman Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee issued the following statement:
“Advances in technology have allowed the U.S. to enjoy the safest, highest quality, most abundant, diverse and affordable supply of food and fiber mankind has ever known. With the world’s population expected to reach 10 billion by 2050, biotechnology is an essential tool for our farmers to meet this demand in an environmentally sound, sustainable, and affordable way. Unfortunately, proposed Federal and State laws threaten this innovation by generating a patchwork of differing labeling requirements, which will result in inconsistent and confusing information for consumers and interfere with interstate commerce. H.R. 1599 establishes a voluntary nation-wide marketing program that gives consumers access to consistent, reliable information while protecting advancements in food production technology and innovation.”
If you would like to see a complete list of how each Congressman voted, click here.
The bill now heads to the Senate and may have a very slow ride over there. It doesn’t look like any action may be taken on it for a while, but I’ll keep tabs on it!
