When asked if this GMO labeling movement will raise product costs for consumers, Sullivan says it depends on the label requirements. He says another factor is potential changes in the food manufacturing process. If you have to keep ingredients segregated within a plant, it’s going to cost more money to produce the product.
One irony, says Sullivan is that GMOs were developed to help give more access to consumers for healthy foods. Yet the consumers who care about labeling are the ones who could pay more money for the food.
“One interesting question is there is a lot being written about the growing roles of consumer purchasing decisions but are these groups really representing the majority of people?” Sullivan askd. He wonders how real the demand actually is for certain kinds of labeling.
Regardless, GMO labeling is moving forward. It simply remains to be seen whether state laws will take effect first or a federal law would take effect and pre-empt states and whether or not food manufactures and consumer advocacy groups can agree on one, national GMO label.
Editor’s Note: 4,000 chefs called on Senate to reject the latest version of the DARK Act on March 10.
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