Alfalfa’s Backs Federal GMO Labeling Law

Colorado Congressman Jared Polis (D) will host a public event this week at Alfalfa Market’s Broadway St. location in Boulder, Colo., to raise awareness for a federal Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) labeling bill he is co-sponsoring.

The GMO labeling bill Rep. Polis is promoting will require accurate information be disclosed to consumers when food contains or is produced with a genetically engineered material. Following state GMO labeling efforts in California, Hawaii, New Mexico, Missouri and Washington State, the lawmaker says the federal bill will grant consumers the right to know what they are eating.

“I am proud to help lead the GMO labeling bill, which is all about consumer choice and information,” said Polis. “It’s important to empower people with the information they need to make their own healthy choices. People have the right to make consumer decisions based on accurate transparency in labeling, and knowledge is power.”

Boulder, Colo.-based Alfalfa Market’s co-founder, president and CEO Mark Retzloff squarely supports Polis’s bill. “As someone who has devoted his life and 43-year career to ensuring consumers have access to healthy organic foods, I think that consumers have a right to know how their food is produced, and the vast majority of consumers polled say they want to know if their food has been genetically modified.”

Retzloff, an organic foods pioneer, continued: “A federal labeling standard for GMO ingredients is the best choice for consumers and product manufacturers, as it provides transparency on the label and requires the same labeling standard for all manufacturers, regardless of their location or production methods."

A summary of the proposed federal GMO labeling bill:

• States that consumers have a right to know whether the food they purchase contains or was produced with genetically engineered material.
• Defines the term genetically modified organism including plants, animals and fish and requirements for labeling.
• Provides a framework of civil penalties for violations.

For more information, visit Alfalfa’s website.