Cornell Study: Mandatory GMO Labeling Would Increase Food Prices $500 for NY Families

16 May 2014 --- As food prices continue to rise for families across the country, a new study from Cornell University this week revealed that New York’s proposed mandatory GMO labeling bill would cost families an average of $500 per year at the checkout aisle.

The study comes on the heels of similar studies in Washington state and California that showed mandatory GMO labels would result in similar increases in the cost of food.

“American families deserve safe, abundant and affordable food,” said Claire Parker, spokeswoman for the Coalition for Safe and Affordable Food. “GMOs have been used in our food supply for more than 20 years and no study has ever shown them to be unsafe or different from foods without GMOs. Repeated studies, however, have shown that the high cost of mandatory labeling would dramatically increase the price of groceries at the checkout aisle for consumers. A mandatory GMO label will just make it more difficult and expensive for hard-working American families to put food on the table.”

The study, released earlier this week, found that families forced to buy organic food instead of conventional foods containing GMOs could see their food prices increase as much as $1,556 per family per year. Similarly, such a mandatory labeling law would likely cost the state of New York millions of dollars in revenue to implement the new requirements and to account for a loss in farm income.

Earlier this morning, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that April was the third consecutive month that American families saw an increase in food prices, rising a total of 3.9 percent since January.

The study was conducted by Professor Bill Lesser from the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University to evaluate the added costs that will be passed on to consumers if mandatory labeling becomes law in New York.