The American Soybean Association (ASA) is calling on the House of Representatives to take up and pass legislation that would establish a clear and consistent national framework for the voluntary labeling of GMO-free foods, as well as foods containing biotechnology. ASA praised the House Agriculture Committee for its work earlier today in marking up and approving the bill, which sets science-based standards for labeling, and provides consumers with the information they seek on product labels.

"Consumers continue to demand more transparency and accountability from food producers. This bill ensures that a multi-state patchwork of state regulations is avoided, as the wide range of potential individual and conflicting non-GMO labeling schemes," said Wade Cowan, ASA president and a soybean farmer from Brownfield, Texas.

Authored by Reps. Mike Pompeo of Kansas and G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina, the bipartisan Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act has 68 cosponsors. As a member of the Coalition for Safe and Affordable FOod, ASA is now engaged in a full-court press in each of the 30 soybean-growing states to garner chamber-wide support for the bill.

"We've seen that the effort to bring clarity to the GMO labeling debate has significant support on both sides of the aisle," Cowan said. "It's clear that consumers want practical solutions that give them the confidence they want in their food, and this legislation does exactly that. In the coming weeks, we'll meet with every lawmaker in soybean country to urge them to support this legislation. It's a bill that moves us closer to a science-based dialogue on food and farm issues, and we will encourage every member of the House to get behind it."