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Caught Our Eye

Group hires lobbyists to get GMO foods labeled

Posted by J. Todd Foster on April 28, 2016

Citizens for GMO Labeling has hired D.C. Strategies Group LLC to lobby the Senate on four bills to get genetically modified foods labeled.

The Connecticut-based Citizens for GMO Labeling will use D.C. Strategies' lobbyists Mike Chapman, a partner, longtime lobbyist and former legislative director for then-Rep. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.); and Roy DeLoach, a D.C. Strategies partner, lawyer and former chief executive officer of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers.

"GMO labeling bills have been introduced in more than half the United States, and recent polls by major news organizations consistently show that more than 90% of Americans want to know if their food is genetically engineered," Citizens for GMO Labeling says.

"In response, chemical manufacturers and junk food companies, benefiting from the current lack of transparency and information in the food market, have been spending millions of dollars to keep people in the dark about what they're eating. State legislators now have the opportunity to honor the will of the people and protect the democracy of our common food supply. Unless action is taken soon by a critical mass of states, the basic human right of food choice may be rendered obsolete," the organization says.

Biotechnology giant Monsanto maintains that the advent of genetically modified organisms — where agricultural biotechnology and genetic engineering are used to develop new varieties of plant seeds that can resist insects and harsh weather conditions — contain "no credible evidence of harm to humans or animals."