On April 9, U.S. House Representative Mike Pompeo of Kansas introduced a bill that would give ultimate authority of genetically modified organism ("GMO") labeling to FDA, which favors a voluntary approach to the issue. The 21-page bill, H.R. 4432, has the support of the food, biotechnology, and agriculture industries and attempts to nullify state-level efforts to require mandatory labels for foods containing GMOs. The introduction of the bill coincides with Vermont being on the brink of becoming the first state to successfully pass a mandatory GMO labeling bill. Senator Barbara Boxer of California has also introduced a bill—S. 809—that seeks to create a federal standard that would mandate the labeling of foods that contain GMOs. Unlike Pompeo's bill, Boxer's has a companion bill in the House (H.R. 1699).

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