U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, R-Kan., Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, on Dec. 20 applauded the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s final rule on his landmark legislation – the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard – to protect the use of agriculture biotechnology, provide certainty to farmers and the supply chain, and ensure consumers have greater access to food information.
“I applaud Secretary Perdue and the Agriculture Department for protecting and preserving this essential and safe tool for farmers, while also allowing consumers to know more consistent information about their food,” said Chairman Roberts. “We began our work more than three years ago to avert this wrecking ball from wreaking havoc on the entire food chain, and today USDA has done the right thing to ensure agriculture biotechnology will continue to be used by farmers to feed a rapidly growing population.”
The bipartisan National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard, S.764, crafted by Chairman Roberts and Ranking Member Stabenow, was signed into law on July 29, 2016. The law has the support of more than 1,000 food and agriculture groups. Without this legislation, it is estimated that the average American household would pay an extra $1,050 annually.
