Vt. GMO Labeling Act Is Unnatural And Unconstitutional

Law360, New York (October 8, 2015, 2:59 PM EDT) -- The state of Vermont was not one of the original 13 colonies and did not join the union until 1791, the year the First Amendment was ratified. That tardiness may explain its inability to interpret the First Amendment correctly. Vermont was settled by the French from whence its Ver (green) mont (mountain) name emerged as well as, perhaps, its penchant fouler aux pieds (to trample) the limitations the First Amendment places on state power — including the regulation of food manufacturers' speech. While Vermont's food pedigree is unassailable — it is the maple sugar capital of the U.S. and gave birth to Ben and Jerry's ice cream — when it comes to the First Amendment, it has a knack for serving up leftovers and for getting it wrong. In fact, the most important U.S. Supreme Court ruling in U.S. history impacting the "labeling" of products regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration came from Vermont. In Sorrell v. IMS, the Supreme Court found that a Vermont statute barring manufacturers from using certain commercially available information was unconstitutional under the First Amendment....

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