Monsanto Rider Not Included in Senate Amendment to Continuing Resolution

Just Label It applauds U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) for her leadership in preventing a provision deemed the “Monsanto rider” from being included in a Senate amendment to the House Continuing Resolution. The provision would negate any meaningful judicial review of the USDA’s decisions to allow planting of genetically engineered crops. Senator Mikulski issued a statement today on the Monsanto provision:

“My promises made are promises kept. I have never supported the Monsanto provision, and I continue to oppose it. When I became Appropriations Chairwoman and inherited this problem, I promised I would work to solve it. The Monsanto provision is not included in either of the Senate or House FY14 Agriculture Appropriations bills, and that is a good thing. There’s no reason for it to be included in a short-term CR, either.

Senator Mikulski has been an active proponent for the consumer right to know. She has supported a bill supporting labeling of genetically engineered fish, a Farm Bill amendment to require labeling for GE ingredients, and also co-sponsored a federal GE labeling bill introduced this spring by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR).

Polls show that more than 90% of American consumers want to know about the food they’re eating, a right held by citizens in 64 countries around the world that already require mandatory labeling of GE foods.