Any genetically modified food offered for sale in Hawaii would need to carry a label that clearly identifies it as genetically altered under a bill that won approval from two Senate committees Thursday. However, the measure appears unlikely to get far in the state House this year.
The issue has emerged as an annual focus of controversy at the Legislature. After tallying public testimony on Senate Bill 131 on Thursday, Senate Health Chairman Josh Green announced 407 people had submitted testimony in support of labeling, while 103 opposed it.
Labeling supporter Mary Lacques testified that Hawaii residents have been asking for a GMO labeling law for several years, and the idea has broad community support.
"I think that labeling legislation does not argue whether the (genetic engineering) industry is good or bad," she said. "It simply argues for the right to choose, and I think the right to choose is a core value of our democratic society."
But labeling opponent Michael Kamiya, son of the owner of papaya farm Kamiya Gold Inc., said the additional labeling requirement would increase costs for consumers.
Kamiya also worried that placing a label on GMO products will alarm consumers, making them think the products are harmful. The GMO label would be perceived much like the surgeon general’s warnings on packages of cigarettes, and would stigmatize GMO produce, Kamiya said.
Green announced in a written statement earlier this week that he would hear the bill because "the people of Hawaii have a right to know what’s in the food they eat."
"If the people want to know if there are GMOs in their food, then the Legislature should follow their will and pass a simple and effective labeling system," said Green (D, Naalehu-Kailua-Kona).
The labeling measure won the unanimous approval of the Senate Agriculture and Health committees, but it’s expected to stall in the House.
The House approved a GMO labeling bill two years ago, but the measure failed later in the session. The House has been unwilling to consider any similar bills so far this session, and a member of the House leadership predicted Thursday that the House Democratic majority will not support a labeling bill this year.
The bill approved by the Senate committees would require that all food or raw agricultural commodities sold in Hawaii after Jan. 1 be labeled as genetically modified products if they contain genetically engineered materials.
The mandatory label would announce in bold print, "This product contains a genetically modified material or was produced with a genetically modified material," according to the measure.
The new labeling requirement would also apply to all meat and other food products from animals that were fed genetically modified material. The labeling requirement would not apply to food served in restaurants.
Under the bill, vendors of GMO food that is not properly labeled could be fined up to $1,000 for each violation. The measure also calls for the state Department of Health to adopt rules for testing food to determine whether it contains GMO material.
