Whether you’re pro- or anti-GMO foods, it seems only reasonable that the public should know whether genetically modified organisms are a component of our chips, breakfast cereals, salad fixings, and cans of chicken noodle soup. Unfortunately not everybody agrees.

Many here in Vermont were dismayed when the U.S. Senate blasted to bits the state’s recently passed Act 120, the first law in the nation requiring labeling of GMO foods. Some 84 similar bills are pending in 29 states, and Maine and Connecticut have passed their own GMO labeling laws, though each with a cautious “trigger” requirement: that is, neither will go into effect until neighboring states fall into line and take the same steps. The federal government, however,