Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) and Congressman Sean Casten (D-IL) announced the reintroduction of the Voluntary Food Climate Labeling Act, groundbreaking legislation aimed at empowering consumers to better understand the climate impact of their food purchases. Specifically, this bill would allow food producers, manufacturers, and retailers to work with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create a voluntary label that provides EPA-verified information about the carbon footprint of food products.
“The food and agriculture sector contributes an estimated 10 percent of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the United States,” said Congresswoman Brownley. “While a majority of consumers say that sustainability is important to them when purchasing food, research shows that consumers struggle to identify which products are the most sustainable. This new food climate label would help consumers more easily identify sustainable foods and food production, creating a simple and effective solution to address one of the significant causes of greenhouse gas emissions. Creating this label will be a real win-win for the agriculture sector, consumers, and our environment.”
“A growing number of consumers are eager to know the climate impacts of the items they purchase,” said Congressman Casten. “The Voluntary Food Climate Labeling Act provides them with the information they need to make climate-conscious decisions – if they so choose – with their hard-earned money, empowering them to take control of their own carbon footprint.”
The label will provide information on the greenhouse gas emissions associated with every stage of a food product’s lifecycle, including production, manufacturing, distribution, consumer use, and end-of-life disposal, and recycling. It will also give food producers, manufacturers, and retailers an opportunity to highlight their efforts to reduce emissions, while helping consumers make more sustainable choices when purchasing food products.
Background on the Voluntary Food Climate Labeling Act
The Voluntary Food Climate Labeling Act would establish a Voluntary Food Climate Labeling Program at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in partnership with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This voluntary program will provide consumers with clear, EPA-verified information about a product’s environmental impact, including emissions from production, manufacturing, packaging, and disposal.
The label will provide a numerical summary of the best available information regarding the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the product’s entire lifecycle, from growing of the food ingredients, manufacturing, processing, packaging, distribution, storage, presentation in the retail establishment, consumer use (including the energy involved in refrigeration and cooking), end-of-life reuse, recycling, composting, treatment, and disposal of the food and its packaging. The EPA will consult with stakeholders to ensure the accuracy of the information, and businesses will only provide data for processes they control, such as production and distribution.
Read the full text of the bill here.
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Issues: 119th Congress, Climate Crisis, Environment