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CONGRESS SENDS GMO DISCLOSURE BILL TO PRESIDENT
After months of negotiations, a compromise bill for the disclosure of genetically modified food ingredients is headed to President Obama’s desk. The House today gave final congressional approval to a Senate-passed compromise by Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow. The legislation requires food manufacturers to disclose genetically modified ingredients via an on-package label, symbol or electronic code as regulated by the USDA [OKAgPolicy].
TOP HEADLINES
Historic GMO labeling compromise clears Congress:
In a sweeping victory for farm groups, food companies and the biotech industry, the House voted overwhelmingly today to clear legislation that will prevent states from requiring on-package labeling of GMOs [Agri-Pulse].
GMO labeling bill gains House approval:
The House of Representatives voted on Thursday to require the labeling of foods that contain genetically engineered ingredients, clearing the bill’s final obstacle before it heads to the White House, where President Obama is expected to sign it into law [New York Times].
FEDERAL
Ag groups say USDA laid an egg with organic welfare rule:
The standards touch on all phases of organic animal production, but perhaps no ag sector would be more impacted by the rule than poultry and egg production [Agri-Pulse].
Americans are buying gene-edited food that’s not labeled GMO:
Products made possible through gene-editing have landed on grocery shelves. Whether they’ll stay there is up to shoppers wary of technological tinkering [Bloomberg].
New schemes pay you to save species – but will they work?:
Programs being set up in the American West are taking a radical new approach: paying landowners to preserve animal habitat [Smithsonian].
Former interior head enlisted for California giant water tunnels:
California Gov. Jerry Brown has enlisted a Washington senior statesman to help his massive, $15.7 billion water tunnel proposal clear regulatory and financial hurdles, officials said Thursday [AP].
STATe
Oklahoma Farm Bureau backing right to farm:
Oklahoma Farm Bureau supports State Question 777, commonly called the Right to Farm Bill, and the organization is doing all it can to encourage voters to do the same when they mark their ballots Nov. 8 [Stillwater News Press].
Sausage labels with SQ 777 logos draw ire:
Brett Ramsey of Blue and Gold Sausage Co., which operates in Jones, Okla., said the logos are not about “recruiting kids,” but about showing solidarity with Oklahoma’s pork industry. “We do not produce our own pork, but we have a direct relationship with those who do,” Ramsey said. “So we are certainly part of the animal agriculture industry in the state. We are trying to show meaningful support for the position of Oklahoma pork producers” [Tahlequah Daily Press].
MISCELLANEOUS
The Daily 202: Keep an eye on Tom Vilsack in Hillary Clinton’s veepstakes:
But there’s increasing chatter among some tip-top Democrats that another white guy – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack – could be emerging as a real contender late in the process. He’s a sleeper, but he has several qualities that make him appealing to the Clintons [Washington Post].
Donald Trump chooses Mike Pence as VP:
Former Indiana Farm Bureau President Don Villwock calls Pence a “dream candidate” for agriculture. He says Pence understands and supports renewable fuels and is scale neutral when it comes to the livestock industry. At the same time, Pence has worked hard to promote smaller-scale producers and rural development and worked on immigration reform when he was in Congress, Villwock says [Agri-Pulse].
