Sanders says he’ll try to block Senate GMO bill

MONTPELIER, Vt. – Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders says he’ll try to block Senate consideration of a bill that would require nationwide labeling of food with genetically modified products, but with a less stringent labeling requirement than the one included in Vermont’s law.

Individual senators can put a hold on legislation, blocking it from coming up for debate unless backers can muster 60 votes. The Vermont independent says he prepared to resort to that tactic.

Sanders’ comments come just days before Vermont is slated to become the first state to require labeling of genetically modified food.

And they come days after the Republican chairman and ranking Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee announced compromise federal labeling legislation that Sanders says is too lenient on the food industry.