"Farmers Disagree on Impact Of GMOs"

"There was a celebration on the Statehouse steps in May when Gov. Peter Shumlin signed a bill into law that made Vermont the first state to require labeling of genetically modified foods.

There was music, people were smiling, and Ben & Jerry's Chief Executive Officer Jostein Solheim handed out free ice cream to the crowd of about 300 people. Ben & Jerry's is in the process of going completely GMO-free.

One of the celebrants that day was Sen. David Zuckerman, P/D-Chittenden, lead sponsor of the GMO labeling bill. Zuckerman, an organic farmer by trade, first introduced GMO legislation as a representative in 1999, to ascertain from the University of Vermont how much money the school was receiving to research GMOs. In 2003, Zuckerman was the lead sponsor of a series of bills on GMOs, one of which required labeling. Now, after 11 years, full disclosure had won the day, in Zuckerman's view."

Dan D'Ambrosio reports for the Burlington Free Press June 8, 2014.