Sorrell assembles team to defend GMO labeling
Attorney General William Sorrell has named five attorneys to work full-time to defend the state against a lawsuit filed in June that challenges the constitutionality of mandated labeling of genetically engineered foods.
Sorrell also announced he has negotiated a $1.465 million contract with Robbins Russell, a Washington, D.C., law firm, to help the state's legal team.
The in-state team will be led by Megan J. Shafritz, chief of the civil division. The other members are Jon Alexander, Kyle Landis-Marinello and Naomi Sheffield, all of whom are staff attorneys in the Attorney General's Office, and Kate Duffy, commissioner of the Department of Human Resources. Duffy, a lawyer who previously worked in the AG's office, will move back in August to join the team.
Sorrell had advised lawmakers as they deliberated on the GMO legislation earlier this year that he expected the measure would result in a legal challenge that likely would be expensive to defend.
The law goes into effect July 1, 2016.
In his announcement Monday of the legal defense team, Sorrell said: "Plaintiffs are both national and international trade associations that are well-resourced and are expected to mount a vigorous attack on the law."
Sorrell voiced confidence in the capabilities of the team he has assembled to fight the lawsuit.
The four national organizations that filed a legal challenge of the law in U.S. District Court in Burlington are the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the Snack Food Association, the International Dairy Foods Association and National Association of Manufacturers.
In announcing the lawsuit last month, the Grocery Manufacturers Association complained that the law "imposes burdensome new speech requirements — and restrictions — that will affect, by Vermont's count, eight out of every ten foods at the grocery store. Yet Vermont has effectively conceded this law has no basis in health, safety, or science. That is why a number of product categories, including milk, meat, restaurant items and alcohol, are exempt from the law. This means that many foods containing GMO ingredients will not actually disclose that fact.
"The First Amendment dictates that when speech is involved, Vermont policymakers cannot merely act as a pass-through for the fads and controversies of the day. It must point to a truly 'governmental' interest, not just a political one."
Supporters of enacting a labeling requirement argued that Vermonters had made clear they wanted to know what is in their food.
Falko Schilling, consumer protection advocate with the Vermont Public Interest Research Group, noted when the trade groups launched their lawsuit that Vermonters wanted the law so badly they said they would help pay to defend it. Lawmakers gave the public the opportunity to help with the cost by setting up a website that takes donations, www.foodfightfundvt.org.
Contact Nancy Remsen at 578-5685 or nremsen@freepressmedia.com. Follow Nancy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/nancybfp.