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Under a new law signed by President Barack Obama on Friday, food labels must declare whether or not the item contains genetically modified ingredients.

In a recent study, researchers said they did not find any evidence that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) pose a hazard to human health, but advocates say the public does not have access to a lot of information about what’s in their food.

The law requires companies to say the food is produced with genetic engineering in plain words on the package, along with a QR code, website information, or an 800 hundred number.

Opponents to the legislation argue this type of labeling discriminates against lower-income families, who may not have access to the technology required to learn further details.

On Wednesday’s edition of NewsOne Now, Roland Martin and his panel of guests discussed the controversy over the food labeling bill.

“Don’t try to pimp low-income folks,” said Martin.

“The food industry does not simply want to reveal these details, but I love it how all of a sudden, ‘Oh, low-income folks don’t have access to the internet so they won’t be able to research this stuff,’” said Martin.

NewsOne Now panelist A. Scott Bolden said, “The food industry discriminates against low-income folks.”

“If you go to a poor community and see what’s offered in supermarkets and you go to a wealthy community, you can see that the wealthy community has healthier foods.”

Paris Dennard said if opponents to the food-labeling law are so interested in low-income families, they should be equally “concerned that low-income families should have proper access to healthy foods in the first place.”

Watch Roland Martin and the NewsOne Now panel discuss the food-labeling law in the video clip above.

PHOTO CREDIT: Getty

Watch NewsOne Now with Roland Martin, in its new time slot on TV One.

Pres. Obama Signs Controversial Food Label Law Forcing Food Companies To Identify GMOs  was originally published on newsone.com