Now that President Obama has signed S. 764 and made mandatory disclosure of bioengineered food the law of the land, the focus moves to the rulemaking process. S. 764 is compromise legislation, endorsed by NPC, and crafted by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts and ranking member Debbie Stabenow. The legislation establishes federal preemption on food labeling and includes a variety of options for meeting mandatory disclosure including text, symbol or electronic digital link. Food servedin restaurants is exempt, as are animals who consume bioengineered feed. The definition of bioengineer-ing as referring to a food "for which the modification could not otherwise be obtained through conventional breeding or found in nature" is one that supports modern agriculture and is less limiting. It would have been calamitous if the definition had applied to traditional breeding techniques and hybridization. NPC's concern over labeling of a food product when there is no connection to a food safety orhuman health concern remains, but the compromise was the best way forward.
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