The House of Representative passed the measure on Thursday with solid support from both Democrats and Republicans. The White House says Obama will sign the bill, which would pre-empt a Vermont law that kicked in earlier this month. Dannon is currently using stickers declaring the presence of GMO ingredients in Vermont, and recently committed to labeling its products nationwide by the end of the year and reducing use of GMO ingredients. "If there is an acknowledgement about the right of a consumer to have access to information, why not give them the information in plain and simple English?" Instead, consumers may have to scan a "QR code" — those little square codes that you see on airline boarding passes — to get that information. But several companies started to label their foods anyway as Vermont's law went into effect. The other problem with using digital links, according to Gary Hirshberg, Chairman of the pro-labeling group Just Label It, is consumers simply will not take the time to scan every product they buy with their smartphones. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said labeling isn't necessary because GMO foods aren't any different than regular ones. This is why food companies and farm groups lobbied Congress to ban mandatory GMO labeling laws, including the one in Vermont. That previous proposal passed in the House, but not the Senate, where Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow — the ranking Democrat on the agriculture committee — dug in her heels against it. One of the solutions being considered is the Grocery Manufacturers Association's trademarked SmartLabel, a system of websites, digital QR codes, apps, and phone numbers on packages that direct consumers elsewhere for more information about the product. Yet the Organic Trade Association, which supports GMO labeling, decided to support the compromise, in part because the law includes some special benefits for the organic industry. If signed (the White House has said it plans to support the legislation), the law would give the U.S. Department of Agriculture two years to create standards for labeling GMOs in food nationwide, and would preempt Vermont's new GMO labeling law, the country's first, which went into effect July 1.
– A bill requiring food packages to carry information on genetically modified ingredients has passed Congress—and NPR reports that neither side of the debate is thrilled about it. Farm groups and food industry lobbyists are opposed to any kind of mandatory labeling, while those calling for GMO labels complain that the bill allows food companies to provide a QR code or even just a phone number consumers can call instead of stating on the packaging whether the product contains GMO ingredients. The bill, which President Obama is expected to sign into law, was approved by the Senate last week and sailed through the House 306-117 on Thursday, the AP reports. The compromise bill on GMO labeling was blasted as a "sham" by some pro-labeling groups and supported by food companies that wanted a national standard—preferably a loose one—instead of state-by-state regulations, BuzzFeed reports. Vermont brought in its own, more stringent law on GMO labeling at the start of this month, and state lawmakers, including Bernie Sanders, argued against the federal bill. "It's a shame that Congress chose to replace our standard with a weaker one that provides multiple ways for the food industry to avoid transparent labeling," Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin said in a statement. (Last year, the FDA approved a genetically engineered animal for human consumption.)