USDA Releases Shoddy GMO Labeling Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The USDA today released its final federal GMO labeling rule. This long awaited and controversial labeling rule will go into effect as early as 2020.

In response, Dana Perls, Senior Food and Agriculture Campaigner at Friends of the Earth U.S, issued the following statement in response:

USDA’s new labeling rules are a disaster, with huge loopholes that could keep consumers in the dark as new GMOs rapidly enter our food supply.

The USDA will allow some of the most common highly processed GMOs to escape labeling, and other GMO ingredients that don’t contain detectable DNA, may be exempt. The rules are unclear if food produced with new genetic engineering techniques like gene editing will be exempt.

All products made with genetic engineering, including ones made with gene-editing tools like CRISPR, should be regulated, assessed for health and environmental impacts and be clearly labeled.

Expert contact: Dana Perls, (510) 978-4425, [email protected]
Communications contact: Patrick Davis, (202) 222-0744, [email protected]