Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB3085
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Full Text of HB3085  98th General Assembly

HB3085ham001 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Deborah Mell

Filed: 3/14/2013

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 3085

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 3085 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Genetically Engineered Food Labeling Act.
 
6    Section 5. Legislative findings. The General Assembly
7finds as follows:
8    (1) Illinois consumers have the right to know whether the
9foods they purchase were produced with genetic engineering so
10they can make informed purchasing decisions. Labeling is
11necessary to ensure that consumers are fully and reliably
12informed about the products they purchase and consume.
13    (2) Consumers overwhelmingly favor knowing whether the
14food they purchase and consume is produced with genetic
15engineering for a variety of reasons, including health,
16economic, environmental, religious, and ethical reasons. Polls

 

 

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1consistently show that the vast majority of the public, more
2than 90%, wants to know if its food was produced with genetic
3engineering.
4    (3) There is currently no federal or State requirement that
5genetically engineered (GE) foods be labeled. In contrast, 61
6countries, including Japan, South Korea, China, Australia,
7Russia, Malaysia, the European Union member states, and other
8key U.S. trading partners, already have laws mandating the
9disclosure of GE foods on food labels. In 2011, Codex
10Alimentarius, the food standards organization of the United
11Nations, stated that governments are free to decide on whether
12and how to label foods produced with genetic engineering.
13    (4) The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not
14require or conduct safety studies of GE foods. Instead, any
15safety consultations are voluntary, and GE food developers may
16decide what information to provide to the agency.
17    (5) The genetic engineering of plants and animals often
18causes unintended consequences. Manipulating genes via genetic
19engineering and inserting them into organisms is an imprecise
20process. The results are not always predictable or
21controllable. Mixing plant, animal, bacterial, and viral genes
22through genetic engineering in combinations that cannot occur
23in nature may produce results that lead to adverse health or
24environmental consequences.
25    (6) United States government scientists have stated that
26the artificial insertion of genetic material into plants via

 

 

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1genetic engineering can cause a variety of significant problems
2with plant foods. Such genetic engineering can increase the
3levels of known toxicants or allergens in foods and create new
4toxicants or allergens with consequent health concerns.
5    (7) Mandatory identification of foods produced with
6genetic engineering can provide a method for detecting, at a
7large epidemiological scale, the potential health effects of
8consuming such foods.
9    (8) Without mandatory disclosure, consumers of GE foods may
10unknowingly violate their dietary and religious beliefs.
11    (9) Numerous foreign markets with restrictions on foods
12produced through genetic engineering have restricted imports
13of U.S. crops due to concerns about genetic engineering. Some
14foreign markets are choosing to purchase agricultural products
15from countries other than the U.S. because GE crops are not
16identified in the U.S., which makes it impossible for buyers to
17determine what does or does not meet their national labeling
18laws or restrictions and thus renders U.S. products less
19desirable.
20    (10) Mandatory identification of foods produced with
21genetic engineering can be a critical method of preserving the
22economic value of exports or domestically sensitive markets
23with restrictions on or prohibitions against genetic
24engineering.
25    (11) Organic food sales are increasing. While total U.S.
26food sales are virtually unchanged, growing less than one

 

 

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1percent yearly, the organic food industry grew at a rate of
29.5% in 2011, and, for the first time, surpassed the $30
3billion mark. Sales of organic fruits and vegetables are up
411.8%, accounting for approximately 12% of all U.S. fruit and
5vegetable sales. Organic dairy is growing at 9% per year and
6comprises nearly 6% of the total U.S. dairy market. Trade
7industry data shows that over the long term organic farming is
8more profitable and economically secure than conventional
9farming. Organic farmers are prohibited from using GE seeds.
10Nonetheless, organic crops are routinely threatened with
11contamination from neighboring fields of GE crops. The risk of
12contamination can erode public confidence in organic products,
13significantly undermining the job-creating, economy-boosting
14growth of the organic market.
15    (12) Foods identified as non-GE constitute the fastest
16growing market segment in agriculture, with annual sales
17increases in 2011 between 20% and 27%. However, only a small
18portion of the food industry participates in voluntary labeling
19of foods claimed not to be the product of genetic engineering.
20There are no consistent standards for such labeling or for
21enforcement of voluntary labels. Because of this, voluntary
22labels are insufficient to provide consumers with adequate
23information on whether or not the food they are purchasing was
24produced with genetic engineering, and in some cases these
25labels may be misleading.
26    (13) The cultivation of GE crops can have serious effects

 

 

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1on the environment. For example, in 2012, 93% of all soy grown
2in the U.S. was engineered to be herbicide resistant. In fact,
3the vast majority of GE crops are designed to withstand
4herbicides, and they therefore promote indiscriminate
5herbicide use. As a result, GE crops have caused 527 million
6pounds of additional herbicides to be applied to the nation's
7farmland. These toxic herbicides damage the vitality and
8quality of our soil, contaminate our drinking water, and pose
9health risks to consumers and farmworkers. Further, because of
10the consequent massive increase in use of herbicides,
11herbicide-resistant weeds have developed and flourished,
12infesting farm fields and roadsides, complicating weed control
13for farmers, and causing farmers to resort to more and
14increasingly toxic herbicides.
15    (14) The people of Illinois should have the choice to avoid
16purchasing foods produced in ways that can lead to such
17environmental harm.
 
18    Section 10. Purpose.    This Act shall establish a
19consistent and enforceable standard for labeling all foods
20produced using genetic engineering, and thus provide citizens
21of this State with knowledge of how their food is produced.
22    The purpose of this Act is to facilitate the exercise of
23the fundamental right of the people of Illinois to be fully
24informed about whether the food they purchase and eat is
25produced with genetic engineering so that they can choose for

 

 

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1themselves whether to purchase and eat such foods. Identifying
2foods produced through genetic engineering will help protect
3our State's agricultural economy and environment. This Act
4shall be liberally construed to fulfill these purposes.
 
5    Section 15. In this Act:
6    "Agriculture" means the science, art, or practice of
7cultivating soil, producing crops, and raising livestock or
8fish and, in varying degrees, the preparation and marketing of
9the resulting products.
10    "Cultivated commercially" means agricultural commodities
11grown or raised in the course of business or trade and sold
12within the United States.
13    "Department" means the Department of Public Health.
14    "Enzyme" means a protein that catalyzes chemical reactions
15of other substances without itself being destroyed or altered
16upon completion of the reactions.
17    "Food" means any articles used to feed or nourish man or
18other animals, chewing gum, and articles used for components,
19including food additives, of any such article.
20    "Genetically engineered" means a process that results in a
21substance that is produced from an organism or organisms in
22which the genetic material has been changed through the
23application of the following:
24        (1) in vitro nucleic acid techniques, which include,
25    but are not limited to, recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid

 

 

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1    (DNA), direct injection of nucleic acid into cells or
2    organelles, encapsulation, gene deletion, and doubling; or
3        (2) methods of fusing cells beyond the taxonomic family
4    that overcome natural physiological reproductive or
5    recombinant barriers, and that are not techniques used in
6    traditional breeding and selection, such as conjugation,
7    transduction, and hybridization.
8    "Label" means a display of written, printed, or graphic
9matter upon or connected to the immediate container or surface
10of any article. In order to meet the definition of "label", any
11word, statement, or other information appearing on the label
12shall appear on the outside container or wrapper, if any, of
13the bulk, wholesale, or retail package of the article or be
14easily legible through the outside container or wrapper.
15    "Labeling" means any written, printed, or graphic matter
16that is present on the label, accompanies the food, or is
17displayed near the food, including that for the purpose of
18promoting its sale or disposal.
19    "Manufacturer" means the person or business that makes,
20processes, combines, or packages food ingredients into a
21finished food product.
22    "Medical food" means a food that is formulated to be
23consumed or administered enterally under the supervision of a
24physician and which is intended for the specific dietary
25management of a disease or condition for which distinctive
26nutritional requirements, based on recognized scientific

 

 

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1principles, are established by medical evaluation.
2    "Organism" means any biological entity capable of
3replication, reproduction, or transferring genetic material.
4    "Processed food" means any food other than a raw
5agricultural commodity, including any food produced from a raw
6agricultural commodity that has been subject to processing such
7as canning, smoking, pressing, cooking, freezing, dehydration,
8fermentation, or milling.
9    "Processing aid" means the following:
10        (a) a substance that is added to a food during the
11    processing of the food but is removed in some manner from
12    the food before it is packaged in its final form;
13        (b) a substance that is added to a food during
14    processing, is converted into constituents normally
15    present in the food, and does not significantly increase
16    the amount of the constituents found in the food; or
17        (c) a substance that is added to a food for its
18    technical or functional effects in the processing but is
19    present in the finished food at insignificant levels and
20    does not have any technical or functional effect in that
21    finished food.
22    "Raw agricultural commodity" means any plant, animal, or
23fungi grown or produced for human food use purposes.
 
24    Section 20. Labeling of genetically engineered foods.
25    (a) Beginning on the effective date of this Act, any food

 

 

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1offered for retail sale in this State is misbranded if it is
2entirely or partially produced with genetic engineering and
3that fact is not disclosed as follows:
4        (1) In the case of a raw agricultural commodity, on the
5    package offered for retail sale, with the words
6    "Genetically Engineered" appearing clearly and
7    conspicuously on the label on the front of the package of
8    the commodity or, in the case of any such commodity that is
9    not separately packaged or labeled, on a clear and
10    conspicuous label appearing on the retail store shelf or
11    bin in which the commodity is displayed for sale.
12        (2) In the case of processed food containing some
13    products of genetic engineering, the manufacturer must
14    label the product, in clear and conspicuous language on the
15    front or back of the package of such food, with the words
16    "Produced with Genetic Engineering" or "Partially Produced
17    with Genetic Engineering".
18    (b) This Act shall not be construed to require either the
19listing or identification of any ingredient or ingredients that
20were genetically engineered, nor that the term "genetically
21engineered" be placed immediately preceding any common name or
22primary product descriptor of a food.
23    (c) Until the effective date of this Act, any processed
24food that would be subject to this Section solely because it
25includes one or more materials produced by genetic engineering
26is not misbranded provided that the engineered materials in the

 

 

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1aggregate do not account for more than nine-tenths of one
2percent of the total weight of the processed food.
3    (d) Subsection (a) of this Section does not apply to any of
4the following:
5        (1) food consisting entirely of, or derived entirely
6    from, an animal that has not itself been genetically
7    engineered, regardless of whether the animal has been fed
8    or injected with any food produced with genetic engineering
9    or any drug or vaccine that has been produced through means
10    of genetic engineering;
11        (2) a raw agricultural commodity or food that has been
12    grown, raised, produced, or derived without the knowing and
13    intentional use of genetically engineered seed or food; to
14    be included within the exclusion under this subsection (d),
15    the person responsible for complying with this Section with
16    respect to a raw agricultural commodity or food must
17    obtain, from whoever sold the raw agricultural commodity or
18    food to that person, a sworn statement that the raw
19    agricultural commodity or food (A) has not been knowingly
20    or intentionally genetically engineered and (B) has been
21    segregated from, and has not been knowingly or
22    intentionally commingled with, foods that may have been
23    genetically engineered at any time; in providing the a
24    sworn statement, a person may rely on a sworn statement
25    from his or her own supplier that contains such an
26    affirmation;

 

 

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1        (3) any processed food that would be subject to this
2    Section solely because one or more processing aids or
3    enzymes were produced or derived with genetic engineering;
4        (4) any alcoholic beverage that is subject to
5    regulation under the Liquor Control Act of 1934;
6        (5) food that has been lawfully certified to be
7    labeled, marketed, and offered for sale as organic pursuant
8    to the federal Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, 7
9    U.S.C. 6501, et seq., and the National Organic Program
10    regulations promulgated pursuant thereto by the United
11    States Department of Agriculture;
12        (6) food that is not packaged for retail sale and that
13    either (A) is a processed food prepared and intended for
14    immediate human consumption or (B) is served, sold, or
15    otherwise provided in any restaurant or other food service
16    establishment that is primarily engaged in the sale of food
17    prepared and intended for immediate human consumption; or
18        (7) medical food.
 
19    Section 25. Right of action for violations, damages, and
20attorneys' fees.
21    (a) The Department, acting through the Attorney General,
22may bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction to
23enjoin any person violating this Act.
24    (b) The Department may assess a civil penalty against any
25person violating this Act.

 

 

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1    (c) Any citizen of this State acting in the public interest
2may bring an action to enjoin a violation of this Act in any
3court of competent jurisdiction if the action is commenced more
4than 60 days after the person has given notice of the alleged
5violation to the Department, to the Attorney General, and to
6the alleged violator.
7    (d) The court may award to a prevailing plaintiff
8reasonable costs and attorneys' fees incurred in investigating
9and prosecuting an action to enforce this Act.
 
10    Section 30. Enforcement and regulation. The Department
11shall adopt rules necessary to implement this Act.
 
12    Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
13severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.".