Missouri House Bill That Would Have Required GMO or mRNA Labeling Killed

 A bill that would have required labeling of any product treated with mRNA was defeated in committee in the Missouri House. The bill, HB 1169, would have required that any product that acts as, or exposed to processes that could have resulted in the product acting as a gene therapy, introduce genetic material, or a genetic change into the user of the product be labeled with the words, “Potential Gene Therapy Product.” If a product was known to be a gene therapy product, the product would have had to be labeled with the words, “Gene Therapy Product.”

Upon written request, any entity that produces, sells, or distributes a product with the capacity to infect an individual with a disease or expose an individual to certain genetically modified material would have had to provide all information by which people could be exposed. Any entity which makes a product available that could infect, transmit to, or be absorbed in a way that would act as a medical intervention, vaccine, drug, or genetic modification would have had to obtain fully informed consent from consumers.

The bill would have covered anything from food to cosmetics.

Local legislators were split on the bill. State Rep. Mazzie Boyd, who represents Worth and Harrison counties, was listed as a co-sponsor. Rep. Jeff Farnan, who represents Nodaway and Gentry counties, who was on the committee that heard the bill, voted against it. The bill died in committee 10-4.

Pro – Tom Renz, Townhall 

Tom Renz, a Twitter influencer who also has a Substack account at tomrenz.substack.com, wrote in a Substack post on April 5th that the bill would have been the country’s best chance of stopping what he said was a nightmare scenario where “people’s genetics are potentially altered with ‘factory foods’ without them even knowing.” He argued that there were backdoor efforts underway as early as 2013 to genetically modify foods in order to become edible vaccines.

He argued that there were too many unknown effects with mRNA and no long-term studies not to safeguard the public by creating informed consent. 

Mr. Renz noted that the bill did not ban anything. “All it does is require labeling of products that can alter your genetics, require companies share info on transmissibility of gene altering interventions, and that fully informed consent be given for any vaccine, gene therapy, or medical intervention. So why are the RINOs in Missouri, lead by the Democrats and Republican House Speaker Dean Plocher are trying to slow-walk this bill through committee to prevent it from being approved this session,” he wrote.

Kimberly Fletcher, writing in Townhall, a conservative website on April 14th, said that given what she saw as the failure of COVID-19 vaccine mandates that Big Pharma was using the food supply as a backdoor effort to distribute mRNA vaccines. Pointing out that many large organizations were lobbying against HB 1169, she wrote, “If these substances were not going into our food supply, why are the lobbyists pitching a fit? The level of outrage among agricultural associations and professional lobbyist groups suggests that this is a very big deal.”

Con – By the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association

In a major win for Missouri farmers and ranchers, the Missouri House Committee on Emerging Issues voted down H.B. 1169, sponsored by Rep. Holly Jones (R-88), on Wednesday, April 19, 2023. According to the Missouri Cattlemen's Association, the legislation would have devalued Missouri cattle by requiring all beef derived from Missouri cattle to include labels regarding what vaccines the cattle received throughout the animal's life. The legislation would have applied to Missouri cattle only.

"This was the most poorly drafted piece of legislation I have seen in my career," said MCA Executive Vice President Mike Deering. "If passed, this careless piece of legislation would have devalued Missouri agricultural commodities for absolutely no reason. Given that 98 percent of the calves in Missouri are exported to other states for finishing and processing, this legislation truly would have been a train wreck for Missouri cattle producers. The out-of-state attorney pushing this legislation showed complete disregard for the farm and ranch families in this state."

The legislation went far beyond vaccines in livestock. It also targeted genetically modified corn and soybeans. According to the Missouri Soybean Association, meat derived from livestock fed corn or soybeans would have been required to be labeled as "potential gene therapy," which is contrary to science. The legislation included no definitions on gene therapy and would have exposed farmers and ranchers to an onslaught of litigation.

In addition to MCA and the Missouri Soybean Association, the legislation was also opposed by Missouri Corn Growers Association; Missouri Pork Producers; Missouri Farm Bureau; Missouri Chamber of Commerce; and more.

"This anti-science legislation would have exponentially driven up food prices, set up the potential for massive lawsuits and had a chilling effect on economic development in the state," according to a letter penned by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce.

The legislation failed with a 10-4 bipartisan vote effectively ending any hope for the legislation in 2023. The legislators who stood with Missouri farmers and ranchers were Reps. Dane Diehl (R-125); Ashley Aune (D-14); Jeff Farnan (R-1); Sherri Gallick (R-62); Mike Haffner (R-55); Dave Hinman (R-103); Josh Hurlbert (R-8); Jamie Johnson (D-12); Doug Mann (D-50); and David Tyson Smith (D-46). The legislation was supported by the bill sponsor, Reps. Bishop Davidson; Bill Hardwick (R-121) and Adam Schnelting (R-69).