Governor Paul LePage of Maine signed into law the “An Act To Protect Maine Food Consumers’ Right To Know about Genetically Engineered Food,” which requires food manufacturers to label genetically modified foods.
This makes Maine the second state after Connecticut to prevent foods containing GMOs from being labeled "natural." While this seems logical, companies manufacturing such foods have been pressuring the federal government to permit such labeling.
Maine Conservation Voters’ Executive Director Maureen Drouin said the new law “will give Maine people the information they need to make informed decisions about the food they and their families eat.”
But there is a catch to the law.
The law will come into effect only when five neighboring states pass similar laws -- an attempt to share the burden of possible lawsuits filed by the agriculture and food industry.
New Hampshire, one of these neighboring states, will take up a similar bill soon but the chances of it being passed are bleak after the relevant committee broke along party lines to oppose the measure.
[Grist] [Portland Press Herald]
