Both Houses of Congress Pass S.764 Establishing the National Bioengineering Food Disclosure Standard, Which Would Immediately Preempt Key Parts of the Vermont GMO Labeling Law

Yesterday, the United States House of Representatives passed Bill S.764 (“Joint Bill”), which will amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to add Subtitle E: “National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard,” and Subtitle F: “Labeling of Certain Food.” The United States Senate passed the same bill last week on July 7, 2016. The Joint Bill, if signed into law by President Obama,3 will immediately preempt most provisions of Vermont’s Act 120, “An Act Relating to the Labeling of Food Produced with Genetic Engineering” (Vermont Law), which requires that certain foods offered for retail sale in Vermont be labeled, “produced with genetic engineering” or with similar alternative statements depending on the specific circumstances.4 The Vermont Law went into effect on July 1, 2016.