Securing GE Food Labeling
Center for Food Safety has led the fight for transparent GMO food labeling, challenging unlawful USDA rules that hid genetically engineered foods behind QR codes and exempted most highly processed GMO foods from disclosure.
What Is GE Food Labeling?
GE food labeling allows consumers to know whether foods were produced using genetic engineering, also called genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Consumers have long demanded clear, on-package labeling of genetically engineered foods so they can make informed choices about health, pesticide use, environmental impacts, and food production methods.
More than 60 countries around the world require GMO labeling. In the United States, years of grassroots organizing and state-level action helped lead to the first federal GMO labeling law in 2016.
GE Food Labeling Litigation
Center for Food Safety challenged USDA’s federal GMO labeling rules after the agency adopted regulations that allowed many genetically engineered foods to remain unlabeled or hidden behind inaccessible QR codes.
The lawsuit argued USDA unlawfully excluded highly refined GMO foods, including many processed oils and ingredients, from disclosure requirements and improperly restricted the use of widely understood terms like “GMO” and “GE.”
CFS and allied organizations also challenged USDA’s reliance on QR code disclosures, arguing the system discriminated against consumers without reliable smartphone or internet access and failed to provide meaningful transparency.
In multiple court victories, federal courts ruled USDA’s QR-code-only labeling system unlawful and later struck down loopholes exempting many ultra-processed GMO foods from disclosure requirements.
The litigation marked a major victory for consumers’ right to know how their food is produced and reinforced the need for accessible, transparent food labeling.
GE Food Labeling and Our Work
Consumers want the right to know whether foods are genetically engineered for health, environmental, ethical, and agricultural reasons.
Many GE/GMO crops are engineered to tolerate increased pesticide use, contributing to higher levels of pesticide application in agriculture. Residues from those pesticides ends up on produce and in our food. Labeling these products protects consumers’ right to know what they are buying and eating.
USDA’s federal GMO labeling rules allowed many genetically engineered foods to avoid disclosure entirely, especially highly refined and processed foods. The rules also permitted companies to rely on QR codes instead of clear on-package labels accessible to all consumers.
Center for Food Safety has led legal and grassroots efforts for transparent GE food labeling for decades.
CFS challenged USDA’s labeling regulations in federal court, securing major rulings against QR-code-only labeling and loopholes excluding many GMO foods from disclosure.
Federal court victories forced USDA to revisit unlawful portions of its GE labeling rules and reinforced that consumers deserve accessible and meaningful food labeling. The litigation helped advance transparency and accountability in the U.S. food system.
