Vermont Governor Signs GM Seed Labeling Law

From the Rutland Herald and Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus:

Top Story:
Douglas signs nation's first GMO labeling law - Apr. 27, 2004

By Darren M. Allen
VERMONT PRESS BUREAU

MONTPELIER - Gov. James Douglas Monday made Vermont the first state to require manufacturers of genetically modified seeds to label and register their products.

The measure was one part of a three-pronged agricultural legislative package that also includes a bill that would make changes to water pollution rules for large farms and alter the state's right-to-farm law.

While the governor wasn't an enthusiastic supporter of the labeling legislation, he promised to sign it along with the other measures as a package.

"I've lived up to my end of the bargain," the governor said in a brief telephone interview. "I said I would support all of the elements on the table."

Under the bill, seeds that are genetically altered or engineered must be labeled as such after Oct. 1. Seed manufacturers must report their total sales in the state to the Secretary of Agriculture every Jan. 15.

The amount of genetically altered crops grown in Vermont is not precisely known, as the only data comes from seed manufacturers on a voluntary basis. Estimates last year by state officials pegged the figure at anywhere between 20 percent and 40 percent - or more or less, according to Bayard Littlefield, coordinator of the Vermont Genetic Engineering Action Network.

"The people who are opposed to this technology are pleased that the governor has signed this measure into law," she said.

She praised the new law's distinction between genetically altered seeds and hybrid seeds, and said the governor should be commended for listening to the hundreds of people who have descended on Montpelier during the legislative session.

The bill arrived on the governor's desk last Friday evening. Although he had five business days under the state constitution in which to sign or veto the measure, he decided to use his pen Monday. "The calendar is dictating this," Douglas said.

His swift action on the measure took some of the bill's most ardent supporters by surprise.

"This is great news," said Amy Shollenberger, policy director of Rural Vermont. "I'm really encouraged that he went ahead and signed it right away. It's a great first step for Vermont to enact this right-to-know bill."

The bill's journey into law has been a twisted, years-long adventure. Last year, the Senate became the first legislative chamber in the country to pass a measure requiring seed manufacturers to register and label their genetically modified products. That measure was fiercely fought by seed manufacturers for years, who said it was unnecessary and counterproductive.

That bill died in the House last year, only to be resurrected several months ago as part of a nasty political skirmish in the House Agriculture Committee. The bill became a bargaining chip between Democrats intent on passing some type of legislation on genetically modified crops and Republicans eager to pass changes to the state's right-to-farm and large-farm laws.

Late last month, the labeling and registration bill made it out of the committee, as did the two other agriculture measures amid promises that all three issues would receive a full airing in both chambers.

The House quickly passed the labeling bill without much debate and sent it to the Senate, which also passed the measure. The other two measures - sought by the Douglas administration - were combined into a single bill, and quickly sent to the Senate by the House. The Senate Agriculture Committee, meanwhile, has taken the House measure and watered it down, essentially asking state agriculture officials to work with farmers to find ways to mitigate water pollution on farms with more than 200 cows. The committee also stripped most of the measure's right-to-farm language.

Douglas said the Senate's alteration of the farm bill is not acceptable. "What the House passed was a good compromise, and it is important that we enact a good, strong farm bill," the governor said. "What the Senate Agriculture Committee is proposing is little more than a study. The time for study is over, and the time for action is now."