Assemblyman David Buchwald (D-White Plains) said Wednesday that he will support a bill that would require labels on all genetically modified foods sold in New York. The move bodes well for the bill’s potential to become law.
“I am pleased to announce that following discussions with Assembly member Linda Rosenthal (D-Manhattan), the sponsor of the bill, we have agreed on an amendment that encourages a federal labeling law,” Buchwald said. “With the inclusion of that amendment, I will be voting in favor of the GMO labeling bill… I want to thank all of my constituents who shared their views with me and helped make progress on this issue.”
Since he is a member of the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection, Buchwald was seen as a key vote. The GMO—genetically modified organism—labeling bill needs to clear his committee before reaching a full vote on the floor. Various supporters of the bill had contacted him repeatedly over the last few weeks and planned a rally in front of his Mount Kisco office on Wednesday.
According to GMO Free NY, one of the organizations that planned the rally, GMOs “have dominated the agricultural landscape”. They’ve also alleged that the government doesn’t regulate GMOs since “federal regulators have strong ties to the biotech industry, which is a blatant conflict of interest”.
GMO Free NY seems to have made it their mission to get this bill passed. They’ve created an online petition as well as started a movement to contact the New York Assembly and Senate to ask them to cosponsor and support the bill. As stated on their website, “We believe we deserve the right to know what’s in our food and the right to make informed choices about what we eat!”
