GMO Legal Battle Heats up

Last Week the Attorney General’s office and three outside groups, including VPIRG, filed briefs in federal court asking the judge to throw out a food industry lawsuit that aims to stop the implementation of Vermont’s first in the nation GMO labeling law. These filings were made in response to a request for a preliminary injunction filed by the plaintiffs earlier this year.

The major issues discussed in these filings revolve around whether or not the State has the ability to require manufacturers to label products produced with genetic engineering. The plaintiffs have claimed Vermont’s law compels commercial speech in violation of the First Amendment, while the State claims that the legislature was well within their power to require this information.

Oral Arguments on the competing motions are expected as early as mid-December, with a decision from the judge to follow.
To read the filings click the link below, or you can visit the Attorney General’s Webpage for all filings in the case so far.

Attorney General’s Filing (Supporting documents can be found here)
VPIRG and CLF Amicus Brief
Free Speech for People Amicus Brief
Vermont Community Law Center Amicus Brief
All filings in the case to date.

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