Michael Smerconish ’14: Through new legislation introduced in the state senate, Pennsylvania has begun contemplating a law that would require all producers of genetically engineered food to label their products as such. The bill, proposed by state senator Daylin Leach, seeks to provide consumers a greater deal of knowledge about the food they are purchasing.
The Center for Food Safety currently estimates that “upwards of 70 percent of processed foods on supermarket shelves–from soda to soup, crackers to condiments–contain genetically engineered ingredients.” Among these items are corn, soybeans, and sugar beets, more than 85 percent of which are produced with the aid of genetic engineering.
The introduction of the bill on March 12th came a week after Whole Foods decided that it would be placing labels on all genetically engineered foods beginning in 2018.
“I’ve introduced this bill not to ban genetically engineered foods,” Leach noted following his announcement, “but to allow consumers to choose which items they purchase.”
The success of Leach’s Senate Bill 653 would make Pennsylvania the first state to pass such legislation, although according to Leach similar ideas are being considered in over 20 other states. In California, the only state yet to attempt a similar law, such a bill did not pass.
Although the collapse of the California bill came as a surprise to many, the Los Angeles Times cited tremendous lobbying efforts from companies like Monsanto Corporation as a possible explanation for the failure.
Pennsylvania can expect similar lobbying to play a factor in this bill, most likely from the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, an organization of over 50,000 members which represents Pennsylvania’s farmers.
Mark O’Neill, member and spokesperson for the bureau, shared his concerns that the labels would “mislead consumers by falsely implying differences where none exist.” He added, “Farmers have grown crops from biotech seeds since 1995, and there has not been a single instance of harm to human health.”
In contrast, however, Leach noted that he doubts profits will significantly be hurt by the new labeling. “Tobacco manufacturers are required to put labels on cigarettes saying the product could kill you, and people are still smoking,” he explained. “Dunkin’ Donuts identifies doughnuts that give you six days’ worth of calories, yet people still buy them.”
Although scientists are divided as to the health impact of genetically engineered food, Leach did end his announcement on a more humorous note, commenting, “I like my testes…anything that would adversely affect them, I don’t want to eat.”

PDF Download