Labels on bags of snack foods indicate they are non-GMO food products. (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)

MONTPELIER, Vt. (CBS/AP) — The announcement this week by General Mills that it will start labeling foods that contain genetically modified ingredients shows the industry might be giving up its fight against state efforts to require such labeling.

Still, many hold out hope Congress will come up with a national solution instead of a patchwork of state laws.

Vermont is the first state to require such labeling, effective July 1.

The U.S. Senate this week voted 48-49 against a bill that would have blocked such state laws.

California rejected a ballot measure in 2012 that would have required GMO labels on food. More than half of all voters voted no on Prop 37. Monsanto and other major food companies spent about $30 million to defeat the initiative.

The Grocery Manufacturers’ Association has challenged Vermont’s law in federal court.

Campbell Soup Co. is in the process of printing new national labels, although it opposes state-by-state labeling laws. General Mills Inc. said Friday it will start nationwide labeling of products that contain genetically modified ingredients. It says it’s not practical to label products for just one state.

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