Bill Text: HI HR149 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Genetically Modified Foods; Federal; Labeling

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 30-3)

Status: (Passed) 2013-04-12 - Resolution adopted in final form. [HR149 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2013-HR149-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	149
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO SUPPORT LEGISLATION REQUIRING the DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION TO COME UP WITH A NATION-WIDE SYSTEM FOR MONITORING, LABELING, AND ENFORCING THE LABELING OF ALL WHOLE AND PROCESSED GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOODS.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, food safety and the health of the population are vital to the growth and prosperity of the nation; and

 

     WHEREAS, the production of food crops using genetically engineered organisms has accelerated since 1996 and today seventy five to eighty percent of the food consumed nationally is genetically modified; and

 

     WHEREAS, over sixty countries around the world, including the European Union, Russia, China, and Egypt, either require labeling or have initiated an outright ban on genetically engineered foods; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 1992, the United States Food and Drug Administration developed a policy describing genetically modified organisms as substantially equivalent to traditional crops; and

 

     WHEREAS, the United States Food and Drug Administration does not conduct or require third-party scientific review of genetically engineered organisms, including foods, but rather relies on the developer of a crop or product to provide their own summary and assessment of allergenicity, toxicity, and nutrition; and

 

     WHEREAS, as a result, the only studies of genetically engineered foods in the United States have been funded or conducted by the companies producing them; and

 

     WHEREAS, long-term health studies of the effects of consuming genetically engineered foods have not been conducted; and

 

     WHEREAS, for a variety of reasons, including health, economic, environmental, religious, and ethical concerns, American consumers overwhelmingly favor knowing whether the food they purchase and eat has been genetically engineered; and

 

     WHEREAS, polls have indicated that ninety percent of Americans favor labeling genetically engineered foods in order to make informed choices about whether or not to purchase or eat these foods; and

 

     WHEREAS, American farmers, with the assistance of genetic engineering companies, help to feed seven billion people around the world, including populations in India and African nations; and

 

     WHEREAS, the labeling of genetically modified food products will not disrupt this important international aid; and

 

     WHEREAS, as of this year, twenty-five states, including Hawaii, have introduced legislation to require the labeling of genetically modified or engineered foods; and

 

     WHEREAS, state-by-state initiatives of food labeling may have cost implications to the consumer, but a national mandate would be more economically feasible for both producers and consumers; and

 

     WHEREAS, most processed foods are already required to include a nutrition label identifying the ingredients, number of servings per package, calories, cholesterol, sodium, vitamins, percent daily values, and other information to assist the consumer with making an educated choice as to whether to purchase the food; and

 

     WHEREAS, transparency and accuracy regarding the genetic and nutritional composition of the food we eat is a right that should be protected by law; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, that the United States Congress is requested to support legislation requiring the Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration to come up with a nation-wide system for monitoring, labeling, and enforcing the labeling of all whole and processed genetically engineered foods; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and Hawaii's congressional delegation.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Genetically Modified Foods; Federal; Labeling