The Grocery Manufacturers Association, along with the Snack Food Association, the International Dairy Foods Association, and the National Association of Manufacturers filed a much-anticipated lawsuit this week against the state of Vermont, alleging that it’s recently passed law requiring the labeling of foods containing genetically modified ingredients violates companies’ First Amendment rights and the Constitution’s Commerce Clause among federal statutes.
“Vermont’s mandatory GMO labeling law–Act 120–is a costly and misguided measure that will set the nation on path toward a 50-state patchwork of GMO labeling policies that do nothing to advance the health and safety of consumers,” the Grocery Manufacturers Association said in a statement about the lawsuit.
In a 22-page complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont, the groups argue that the law unconstitutionally compels companies to speak and to “convey an opinion with which they disagree, namely that consumers should assign significance to the fact that a product contains an ingredient derived from a genetically engineered plant,” a measure contrary to freedom of speech protections.
Vermont in May was the first state in the nation to pass a no strings attached law to require the labeling of foods that contain GMOs. The law, which is set to take effect on July 1, 2016, requires labeling for all food and beverage sold in the state, though it includes exemptions for foods sold in restaurants, animal feed, alcohol, and food made with GMO enzymes.
