On the recordJuly 23, 2015
We have heard a lot of arguments about this bill today and the various components of it, why the bill is not a good idea, and why my amendment, which would strike most of the egregious parts of the bill, would be a beneficial way to change this. Just to go back to my favorite example about labeling, the next time you go into a grocery store, take a look at the carton of orange juice. Right there on the front of the label you will see the words ``from concentrate'' on most of the juice boxes. By law, those words have to appear right there on the front of the label in letters at least half as tall as the name of the brand. We are that specific. Now, the fact that we need to know the difference in that carton between fresh squeezed and made from concentrate or any other process that might have been used shows me that we have decided to have labels for almost everything you can think of except GMO ingredients. If it is so important for Americans to know whether or not their orange juice is made from a concentrate, don't you think it is reasonable to put a label somewhere on the back of a package of food telling consumers whether or not it contains GMO ingredients? This bill, if it is passed by the House, will effectively guarantee that consumers won't have access to that information when they go to the grocery store. This bill will take away the rights of States like mine in Maine to pass laws that protect our consumers.…
