Legislator proposes GE food labeling bill

AUGUSTA – A state representative from Brooklin is spearheading a grass-roots initiative to require mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods in Maine.

“This is my fourth term supporting this issue,” Rep. Paul Volenik, D-Brooklin, said Wednesday, adding that he was an adamant supporter a year ago when the proposal failed to get beyond the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.

It was the third effort for GE labels that has failed on the state level.

At that time, opponents said they wanted to wait until the federal government took action on the issue. Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released new draft policies regarding GE food. The policies do not require labeling.

GE foods are the products of a technology that transfers genes from bacteria, viruses, plants and animals into the DNA of a host organism. It is estimated that up to 70 percent of all processed products on grocery store shelves contain GE ingredients.

Backed by the Maine Right To Know organization based in Waterville, which advocates GE labels, Volenik said this week, “This is an issue of basic fairness for our people. The people of Maine need to know and have the right to know what they are eating.”

No other state has seen GE labeling proceed to the legislative level.

Volenik said there is a groundswell of support for the labeling legislation, particularly in the wake of the federal proposals.

It is a marketing as well as a choice issue, he said. “European countries all have required GE labels. If we want to compete in the international marketplace, we must label.”

Opponents to the labeling issue claim that Maine is such a small market area that large food producers will simply bypass the state, rather than label products containing GE ingredients.

“That is an empty threat,” said Volenik. “We saw this when we set up our bottle redemption program. Producers argued that we couldn’t be the first in the nation, and yet they simply changed their labels. This can be very simple. It is not a massive problem.”

A national survey conducted last year by Time magazine revealed that 81 percent of consumers want GE labels. Volenik said he senses similar support in Maine for such mandatory labeling.

“There is a large element out there that does not want to be eating GE food,” he said. “It also fits well with the growing niche of organic farming here.

“Organic is Maine’s fastest-growing agricultural segment,” he said. “Even though it is still the smallest – at 2 to 3 percent of the total agricultural products grown – it still feeds a tremendous percentage of people in this state. People want local produce. Within a short time, the organic supporters, already with a large voice, have organized into a major economic force.”

Volenik said it has been argued that GE labels really help only the organic industry. “The reality is it helps all agriculture,” the state representative said. “If products are not labeled, people who want to avoid GE ingredients are forced to buy only organic. If the products are labeled, consumers will have a choice.

“We list everything else on the label. It is time we listed GE ingredients,” said Volenik.

Volenik said the proposed legislation has not been printed in its final version yet but is similar to last year’s proposal. “GE ingredients must be labeled,” he said, describing the bill. “If sold in bulk, the bulk package must be labeled. If sold as produce, to be sold from bins, a label must be placed on or near the bin.”

Earlier this week, Maine Right To Know began statewide distribution of pamphlets extolling the proposed GE labeling bill.

“The issue is out of the fringes and ready for the mainstream,” the pamphlet states, “but the food industry, with its big bucks and lobbyists, is poised to oppose us.”

The group is calling for GE opponents to become active in the labeling campaign by contacting their legislators, writing letters to newspapers, and speaking to their friends and neighbors.