Washington, D.C. (June 7, 2018)—The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives (NCFC) today praised introduction of legislation that will help ensure that consumer product labels are based on science and common sense. The Accurate Labels Act (ALA), introduced in the Senate by Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and in the House by Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.), would ensure that state and local labeling laws follow those two basic criteria.
“Consumers deserve clear, accurate and meaningful labels on the food and other products they buy. In too many cases today, state laws like California’s Proposition 65 make this impossible; under that law, a profusion of labels based on dubious science means that consumers are confused and likely to treat the labels as visual white noise,” said Chuck Conner, president and CEO of NCFC. “The ALA will reestablish some common sense by making states and localities ‘show their work’ when setting out requirements for mandatory warning labels.”
The ALA has three main objectives:
- Establish science-based criteria for all new state and local labeling requirements by making states and localities document the science behind their proposed labeling mandates;
- Allow state-mandated product information to be provided through SmartLabelTM and on web sites;
- Ensure that covered product is risk-based.
“I would like to applaud the leadership of Senator Moran and Representatives Kinzinger and Schrader in introducing this legislation. They recognize that a growing number of proposals for state and local warning labels threaten to make a tangled patchwork of requirements that will confuse consumers and add new burdens on co-ops and their farmer-owners,” Conner continued. “NCFC urges the Senate Commerce Committee and the House Energy & Commerce Committee to schedule hearings as soon as possible to hear more about this problem and the need for the ALA.”
About NCFC
Since 1929, NCFC has been the voice of America’s farmer cooperatives. Our members are regional and national farmer cooperatives, which are in turn composed of nearly 3,000 local farmer cooperatives across the country. NCFC members also include 26 state and regional councils of cooperatives. Farmer cooperatives allow individual farmers the ability to own and lead organizations that are essential for continued competitiveness in both the domestic and international markets.
America’s farmer-owned cooperatives provide a comprehensive array of services for their members. These diverse organizations handle, process and market virtually every type of agricultural commodity. They also provide farmers with access to infrastructure necessary to manufacture, distribute and sell a variety of farm inputs. Additionally, they provide credit and related financial services, including export financing.
