Zinke Votes with Montana Ag Community on Bipartisan Labeling Bill

Press Release

Today Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke voted for the House-Senate compromise on GMO labeling regulations. The regulations are supported by Montana's agriculture community, and Zinke was praised for his vote. The Senate Amendment to the House Amendment to S. 764, as it's officially called, would establish a mandatory standard for food companies to disclose on their packaging any bioengineered food and any food that may be bioengineered, or containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) within two years. Last week, the Senate passed the measure with broad bipartisan support (63-30). Today's vote in the House reflected the same consensus (306-117).

"Montanans have a right to know what is in the food they are eating and preparing for their families, which is exactly why I voted for this bill to establish mandatory standards for food labeling. With more folks than ever looking at the labels on their favorite foods, this law makes the important step of creating a transparent system so consumers can shop with confidence," said Rep Zinke. "I'm happy to have the support of Montana's ag community. This bill will protect farmers, ranchers and others in the food industry from costly and duplicative regulations levied by state entities and will Montana producers to better compete nationally."

"The Montana Grain Growers Association thanks Representative Ryan Zinke for his strong support of agriculture and for recognizing that biotechnology is one of many important tools Montana grain producers can use to continue producing high quality food for consumers around the world," said Lola Raska, executive vice president of Montana Grain Growers Association. "In cosponsoring the House-passed labeling bill last year and supporting the Senate compromise bill this week, Ryan has sent a message that any food labeled in the US should follow uniform and science-based standards and should not stigmatize a safe and proven production practice."

"On behalf of General Mills and the employees at our plant in Great Falls, we thank Congressman Zinke for his leadership and support of the GMO disclosure compromise legislation," said Bill Harp, manager of General Mills Great Falls. "In addition to providing consumers with more information about the foods that they eat, this legislation will prevent serious disruptions in the food and agriculture supply chain that would occur as a result of a patchwork of state-by-state labeling laws. This is critically important for the General Mills plant in Great Falls that ships products to all 50 states in the U.S."

"Representative Ryan Zinke continues to show leadership for the agricultural community in Montana. He was a co-sponsor of HR 1599 in 2015 and his current support of a national, uniform labeling bill will make a positive impact on all sugar beet growers in the state," said Ervin Schlemmer Joliet, Montana. Southern Montana Sugarbeet Growers Association.

"The issue of biotech labeling has been a long and complicated one. We appreciate Congressman Zinke's continued support of Montana's farmers and ranchers and the sound science of biotechnology," said Nicole Griffin Rolf, Montana Farm Bureau Federation. "His vote in favor of the Roberts/Stabenow compromise bill will get us one step closer to preventing a state-by-state patchwork of confusing and unnecessary labeling laws, which is good for consumers and farmers alike. The members of the Montana Farm Bureau Federation sincerely appreciate his efforts."

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