am dave rogers i'm a policy advisor with the northeast organic farming association of vermont on may eighth governor shumlin passed or signed the first law in the nation that would require the labeling of genetically modified foods it's a victory that is garnered national and international attention and it's something that was the culmination of over two years of work on the part of thousands of our monitors and a coalition of organizations working continuously in the legislature and in communities across from on the coalition the vermont right to know coalition is made up of nova vermont rural vermont the purred and cedar circle farm we had a lot of support over the period we worked to get this bill passed from vermont fitness is the social responsibility ben and jerrys many many other organizations food manufacturers farmers it was really a historic achievement states have been trying to pass labeling legislation for decades now and we were able to get this bill passed in a way that would not require the implementation of the law to to to wait on the actions of other states to also pass similar laws so this is what is called a clean bill it does not have a trigger that is it does not like in connecticut and maine last year they passed g m o labeling bills but they will not go into effect until a number of other states passed first we're not waiting with moving ahead on our own this bill would as i say require the labeling of foods that contain genetically engineered substances and have been produced with genetic engineering there is a delayed implementation of the law of july two thousand and sixteen is when it is that the label labels will be required the law also prohibits any foods from being labeled as natural if they contain any year moments and so it is a strong bill we worked very closely with vermont law school the environmental natural resources clinic at the vermont law school it is a bill that  passed by large majorities in both the house and the senate we look forward now to the next step which is the attorney general taking this law that was passed and writing rules that will guide the implementation of the law that is very from the beginning when we first started working on this there was talk of a lawsuit other states have experienced lawsuits so related to such labeling vermont has as well back in the ninet when we passed a law that would require the labeling of dairy products produced with bovine growth hormone the biotechnology industry and the large grocery manufacturers were told to monitor right up front that they would sue vermont to prevent it from implementing a lot if the law were to be passed to this estimated that it could be a million dollars to defend it and if we were to lose we we may have to pick up  costs of the other side this was a major concern among legislators who of course put you know paying attention to the budget and it was a major breakthrough in the senate particularly senator sears and the judiciary committee identified funds in the attorney general's office that can be applied to the defense of this law in its implementation and another breakthrough that sen sears was able to engineer was the creation of something called the vermont food fight fund we heard from thousands of people in vermont and around the country saying that ok for a moment get food we will stand with you we will help contribute to the defense and this fund will enable businesses and individuals in vermont and around the country to contribute to this effort to defend and implement this law the fund is administered through the governor's office we would hope and expect that people will seek to help us with this struggle to once and for all the stablish the legality of these labeling laws and if we are able to do that successfully then we will expect progress to be made in other states and also at the national level in congress but this question of legality and constitutionality have to be settled this is where the fights going to be and will will need support at all levels and from all people who are interested in this issue a critical milestone has been passed here in vermont it's really a testament to the to a to the democratic process really in the engagement of people in communities from across f our legislators heard their constituents they worked conscientiously to develop a strong bill and now it's our turn to defend it and implement it and you can get on the vermont right to know web page and they'll be continuing updates opportunities for people to learn about the issues opportunities for people to become involved so thank you very much for all the work that so many people have done and honored this is