Abel Womack Manufacturing & Warehouse Distribution

Manufacturing & Warehouse Distribution equipment, service, rentals & support from Abel Womack, Raymond forklift NE Distributor

Contact Us: 800-554-2887
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Linkedin
  • Customer Login
  • Online Stores
  • Contact Us
  • Locations
  • Cleanrooms & Controlled Environments
  • FANUC Industrial Robots
  • Automated Storage and Retrieval Warehouse Systems
  • Manufacturing Solutions
  • Modular Building Systems
  • Raymond Forklifts
  • Rentals, Parts & Service
  • Mobile Storage Systems
  • About Us
    • Careers
    • Customer Service
    • Customer Testimonials
    • Discover the Difference
    • Locations
    • Management Staff
    • Raymond Sales and Service Center
  • Forklifts
    • New Electric Forklifts
      • J1-TSV Task Support Vehicle
      • LRW35 Motorized Pallet Jack
    • Used Forklifts and Equipment
      • Pre-Owned Equipment Specials
    • Forklift Rentals and Leases
    • Aerial Lifts
    • Power Solutions
  • Parts & Service
    • Forklift & Conveyor Parts
    • Equipment Maintenance & Repair
      • Service Team
    • Forklift Safety Training
    • Tennant Industrial Sweepers and Tennant Scrubbers
    • TechMate Service Lift
    • Shop for Warehouse Products
  • Fleet Management
    • iWarehouse Evolution
    • Fleet & Warehouse Optimization
    • Labor Management System
  • Integrated Systems Solutions
    • Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV)
    • Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems
    • Carousels and Shuttles
    • Conveyor Systems and Sortation
    • Deep Lane High Density Pallet Storage
    • Indoor Vertical Growing
    • Industrial Robots
    • Mobile Storage Systems
    • Modular Building Systems
    • Cleanrooms and Controlled Environments
    • Pallet Rack and Shelving
    • Warehouse Automation and Software
  • Engineering
    • Automated and Robotic Simulation
    • Facility Design and Layout
    • Project Management
  • Information
    • Blog
    • Case Studies
    • Industry Solutions
    • Material Handling News
    • Videos
    • Warehouse Dictionary
Home » News » Warehouse News » Opponents of Vermont GMO Law Find Friendly Audience in Fargo

Opponents of Vermont GMO Law Find Friendly Audience in Fargo

Opponents of Vermont GMO Law Find Friendly Audience in Fargo Click here to view original web page at www.foodmanufacturing.com

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A group of food producers and other advocates of genetically modified food gathered in one of the smallest states in the country Thursday to speak out against product labeling requirements set to become law in an even smaller state.

Vermont's first-in-the-nation law, which goes into effect July 1, requires manufacturers to label packaged foods produced with genetic engineering and stores must post a label on or near unpackaged genetically engineered foods such as produce and bulk food.

Supporters of GMO foods told a friendly audience at an annual biotechnology conference that the law will unfairly stigmatize genetically engineered foods and that it's meant to get GMO foods off the market.

"It is going to create chaos in the food industry and it's going to cost consumers money," said Bruce Chassy, longtime food and nutritional researcher at the University of Illinois and promoter of biotech foods.

The vast majority of scientific research has found genetically engineered foods to be generally safe, but some consumers are worried that new GMO foods could somehow become allergenic or toxic through the engineering process.

Vermont is the only state with fewer people than North Dakota, but North Dakota is a giant in the agricultural market, leading the nation in the production of 10 farm commodity classes and second in four other groups.

North Dakota overwhelmingly supports genetically engineered foods. The state House in the last legislative session voted 78-0 in favor of a resolution asking for national food labeling standards and extolling the benefits of GMO foods.

Chassy said after his keynote speech at North Dakota State University that opponents of the technology are using labeling to try and get GMO foods off the market.

"It's working," Chassy said. "They have chipped off one little state that is notoriously liberal and maverick on issues and are using that as a lynchpin of a process to cause American agriculture to grind to a halt on GM."

Vermont will "learn its lesson" about the cost of defending the law and what it will do to the price of food, Thomas Redick, a lawyer for the Global Environmental Ethics Counsel, told The Associated Press.

"More power to them if they want to be that little corner of the world," Redick said. "They set aside a million dollars of state funds in their law to pay for the lawyers. I think they're going to run out soon and will need another few million."

The Vermont law would impact companies that distribute nationally, including KLN Family Brands of Perham, Minnesota, located 70 miles east of Fargo. KLN products include Barrel O'Fun, Tuffy's Pet Foods, Kenny's Candy and Nutheads Chocolate Family.

There are increased costs involved with tracking down information from various suppliers and then segregating products by GMO status, KLN president Charlie Nelson said.

He added that the financial pain will be felt from field to fork.

"This is a big deal through the supply chain," he said.

Sue Boczenowski

About the Author

Sue Boczenowski is the Marketing Manager for Abel Womack.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • About Us
  • Industry Solutions
  • Blog
  • Products
  • Corporate News
  • Forklift News
  • Warehouse News
  • Contact
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Linkedin
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Forklifts
  • Careers
  • Fleet Management Solutions
  • Professional Design & Engineering Services
  • Parts
  • Service
  • Forklift Training
  • Pre-Owned Forklifts
  • Forklift Rentals
  • Products
  • Contact Us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy

Offices In

Massachusetts
Connecticut
New York
Maine
New Hampshire
Rhode Island
Vermont
© 2019 Abel Womack, Inc. All rights reserved. | 800-554-2887
Black Bear Web Design Company

Copyright © 2019 · Abel Womack 2.0 on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in