Offers needed clarity

Earlier this summer, Congress passed and the president signed into law a bill establishing a national standard requiring companies to indicate the presence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in their products. As an employee of the world’s largest food company, Nestlé, working locally at the Jonesboro factory, I’d like to thank the Arkansas congressional delegation—Reps. Crawford, Hill, Womack, and Westerman and Sens. Boozman and Cotton—for their support of the legislation which finally brought clarity to a very complicated topic.

The legislation benefits everyone in the food supply chain, from farmers and manufacturers to retailers and consumers. It allows us to operate effectively in the U.S. under one uniform, national standard, as opposed to allowing individual states to determine their own haphazard approach. The ramifications of allowing that state-by-state approach to continue would have been confusing, costly, and extremely inefficient.

Our national food supply isn’t perfect, but it’s the safest and among the most efficient in the world. This federal law and the clarity that comes with a standard GMO labeling approach allows us to move forward and work on developing what’s more important—like healthier options, simpler ingredients and greater safety measures. Thank you to the delegation for listening to the needs of your constituents and making the logical decision. COREY DYE

Jonesboro