Hundreds of organizations representing various sectors of the food and agriculture industry signed on to a letter to members of the U.S. House of Representatives this week asking them to support the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act.

The groups representing the Coalition for Safe Affordable Food urged members of Congress to consider co-sponsoring the bill introduced last month by Reps. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) and G. K. Butterfield (D-NC) that would “ensure people across our nation continue to have access to consistent science-based standards for food labeling.”

Among the 373 organizations signing the letter is the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) and president Darren Coppock says they are also working to get a companion bill introduced in the Senate. “I’m encouraged that there’s bipartisan support for the issue and that it’s moving forward in the House,” said Coppock during an interview at NAFB Washington Watch this week. “What the Pompeo-Butterfield bill has put together is a good compromise that satisfies the needs of those asking those questions (about GMOs).”

During the interview, Coppock also addressed another piece of legislation important to ag retailers which would provide an important fix to the Clean Water Act NPDES permitting rule. “That extra layer of regulation provides no benefit to the environment or society, it’s just an additional cost and burden for applicators,” he said. ARA has been working on getting the fix for the past four years and they are hopeful it will pass this year. “I think the chips are better lined up this time to get action on both sides of the Hill,” Coppock added.

Listen to the interview with Coppock conducting by Agri-Pulse reporter Spencer Chase: Interview with Darren Coppock, ARA president and CEO