Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Roberts and Ranking Member Stabenow continue their discussions this week in Washington on a potential compromise on GMO labeling legislation, with the goal of attracting the 60 votes necessary to pass a bill through the Senate.

As few as six and as many as 15 to 20 Democratic votes are needed to pass the bill. Thus, some changes will need to be made to the bill that failed to receive the required 60 votes for cloture two weeks ago.

The compromise that brings Democrats to the bill risks losing some Republicans leery of anything mandatory, or opposed to taking away states’ rights in any form.

In short, the path to passage of this bill lies in the middle of the road, as is typically the case. Over the next week, soy growers are urged to make as many to Senate offices as possible to encourage that.

Soy growers are calling on Democratic offices to reach agreement on a compromise now. Vermont’s mandatory on-package labeling law will disrupt  interstate commerce, will result in a patchwork of state laws that already is driving up costs for consumers and the food industry, and stigmatizes a technology farmers and a growing world need.

ASA urges Republicans to support a solution that garners a sufficient number of Democrats to reach cloture in order to protect the commerce clause of the Constitution and to protect a technology farmers need.

In the absence of any solution from Capitol Hill, on-pack mandatory labeling as required under the Vermont law effectively is the law of the land, as witnessed by the number of major food manufacturers scrambling to comply by the July 1 deadline.

The soybean industry is supportive of the effort by Chairman Roberts to find a solution, one that might include mandatory disclosure through a QR code, website, 800 number, or other means with exemptions for small businesses, which is much different and better than the mandatory on-pack labeling of GMOs required under Vermont’s law.