A meeting by the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry to consider the Chairman’s Mark on Biotechnology Labeling Solutions has been rescheduled for Tuesday March 1 at 10 am Eastern.

The committee meeting had been scheduled for this week but was delayed due to “changes on the Senate floor.” However, Agri-Pulse reports that it was delayed at the request of committee ranking member Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). The bill, providing for a voluntary, national GMO labeling program, is supported by hundreds of food and agricultural organizations, including the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF).

“The bill would pre-empt a patchwork of mandatory and misleading state GMO labeling laws founded more on scare-tactics than science, and we must move this process forward,” AFBF President Zippy Duvall said, adding that it would allow consumers access to information they need to make informed choices in the marketplace. He emphasized, however, that AFBF would closely monitor the bill’s progress to ensure it is compatible with AFBF’s grassroots policy.

“The key provisions of this effort will ensure greater transparency for consumers, with an emphasis on science rather than state-by-state scare tactics,” Duvall said, adding that 750 Farm Bureau members from across the nation are taking that message to Capitol Hill this week during a grassroots fly-in.