In April of 2014, Vermont became the first state in the United States to require that all food products sold within the state of Vermont have a label indicating if it contains genetically modified ingredients. The law also prohibits manufacturers from writing “natural” or “all-natural” if a food product does contain GMOs. The law goes into effect in July 2016, but there have already been a great deal of resistance from various associations including a lawsuit in July of 2014 by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (“GMA”), the International Dairy Foods Association, and the National Association of Manufacturers challenging the constitutionality of the law.
These associations argued that requiring the labeling of GMO containing food products is a violation of the First Amendment, a violation of the Commerce Clause, and preempted by various federal laws. Additionally, they argued that prohibition on the “natural” food labeling is also a violation of the First Amendment and the Commerce Clause.
On April 27, 2015, the US District Court of Vermont issued a decision that mostly favored Vermont. The Court held that the GMO labeling requirement does not violate the First Amendment against unlawfully-compelled speech because there is reasonable relationship between the State’s interest in providing consumers with the most information possible when making food decisions and the requirement to label foods that contain GMO ingredients.
Further, the Court stated that there was no undue burden placed on interstate commerce to violate the Commerce Clause because no other states currently have any laws for food label requirements. Also, there are no federal laws that preempt this kind of labeling, either so that argument of the Plaintiffs was struck down as well.
Finally, the Court held that the prohibition on “natural” labeling was a violation of the First Amendment because there is no substantial state interest in prohibiting the use of these words on food product labels. However, despite this being a violation, the Court held that the various associations did not provide enough proof to show irreparable harm to the Plaintiffs in order to issue a preliminary injunction.
In June of 2015, the Plaintiffs appealed this decision, which is currently awaiting a decision after briefs were filed by both sides. Multiple states, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Illinois, New Hampshire, and Washington, have filed an amicus brief in support of Vermont and the law, along with Ben and Jerry, the ice cream manufacturers. On the other side, the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, Agricultural and Commodity Trade Associations, and the Washington Legal Foundation have filed amicus briefs in support of GMA and the other Plaintiffs.
This law is also looking at resistance from the federal government as well. In July 2015, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill blocking any mandatory labeling of food with genetically modified ingredients, including pre-empting all state laws, such as Vermont’s. The U.S. Senate has yet to vote on the bill, but it is likely to face a great deal of resistance there.