Legislation Quick Search
03/29/2024 06:22 AM
Pennsylvania State Senate
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20130&cosponId=11932
Share:
Home / Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

Subscribe to PaLegis Notifications
NEW!

Subscribe to receive notifications of new Co-Sponsorship Memos circulated

By Member | By Date | Keyword Search


Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2013 - 2014 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: February 28, 2013 01:28 PM
From: Senator Daylin Leach
To: All Senate members
Subject: GMO Labeling Legislation
 
In the near future, I will be introducing legislation to require the labeling of foods that contain genetically modified ingredients.

We have a right to know how much fat and sodium are in our food, and a full list of ingredients is on every box, but due to the influence of biotech companies like Monsanto, we don't know if the foods we are eating are genetically engineered (GE). There has been an explosion of genetically engineered foods on the shelves of our grocery stores since they were introduced in 1996, but due to the lack of labeling requirements, many consumers are unaware of the dramatic shift in food production.

Inadequate testing of these crops has left many consumers concerned about the safety of these foods. GE foods have not been tested for long-term impacts on human and environmental health safety and GE crops usually use more pesticides and herbicides than non-GE crops. Superweeds and pests have become resistant to GE-affiliated herbicides and pesticides, and this requires many more toxic chemicals to be applied to crops.

For these reasons I am concerned about the lack of information that consumers have about the presence of genetically engineered foods and food ingredients on our grocery store shelves. To be clear, my bill will not ban GE foods, it will simply require that companies label their food if they are genetically engineered.



Introduced as SB653