The 2012 legislative session marked a big step forward in the fight to label genetically engineered foods in Vermont. The outspoken support of thousands of Vermonters ensures that this issue will continue to be part of the political conversation through the upcoming elections, and into the next legislative session.The campaign to pass the VT Right …
The 2012 legislative session marked another busy and successful year in advocacy for the public interest. We came into the session with ambitious plans – from taking on the Oil and Gas Industry to ban fracking to initiating a campaign to require GMO labeling to standing up to health insurers and making sure they cover the medical care they should. We take our role as “Vermont’s Voice” in the State House seriously – bringing research and policy analysis, strong partnerships and principled organizing and advocacy to the fore.
The end of the legislative session is always lively. While things are changing by the minute, here’s a snapshot of where things stand with the public interest bills on the eve of the session’s close.
It was just over 2 months ago that the Vermont Right to Know GMOs Coalition launched its campaign to label genetically engineered foods sold in Vermont. With the extraordinary grassroots support of thousands of Vermonters like you, and thousands of other cheerleaders around the country, we set out on what we knew would be difficult …
On April 20th the House Agriculture Committee voted 9-1 in favor of labeling of genetically engineered foods sold in Vermont. The vote came after the Committee had heard nearly a month’s worth of testimony, including the April 12th public hearing when hundreds of the bill’s supporters packed the House chamber. The more than one hundred …
A great account of the April 12th public hearing by Farm Aid’s Joel Morton. Farm Aid was on hand last Thursday evening at the statehouse in Montpelier where hundreds of Vermonters from all four corners of the state gathered to rally and publicly testify in support of bill H722, which would require clear labeling of …
Hundreds Gather in Support of Vermont GMO Right to Know Rally and Hearing Read More »
The Vermont State House was filled to capacity Thursday night for the public hearing on H.722, the bill that would label genetically engineered foods in Vermont. People came from all corners of New England, and unanimously called the members of the House Agriculture Committee to pass H.722. In all, legislators heard testimony from one hundred …
Vermonters Fill State House in Support of GMO Labeling Read More »
The Vermont Right to Know GMOs coalition held an “Unlabeled and Unnatural Buffet” at the Vermont State House today. The problem: right now, without a law requiring GMOs to be labeled, we just don’t know.
As Vermonters, we tend to take a special interest in our food. We want to know who grew it, what’s in it, and how far it traveled before it landed on our plate. That’s why at VPIRG, we think it’s essential that consumers be informed if the food they are buying is the product of genetic engineering (also known as “genetically modified organisms” or GMOs). As part of the Vermont Right to Know GMOs campaign VPIRG is working with a coalition of consumer, public health, agricultural and environmental groups to require the labeling of genetically engineered foods sold in Vermont.
Thanks to the steadfast action of the GMO Right to Know Coalition and VPIRG members across the state and beyond, the Agriculture Committee has been given more time to consider The VT Right to Know Genetically Modified Food Act (H.722), and testimony will resume in the statehouse on Wednesday, March 20th. Due to your support, …
