PRESS RELEASE: Victory! Latest Industry Effort to Block GMO Food Labeling Defeated in Senate [View all]

[proverbialwisdom]

Source: Center for Food Safety



Today the Deny Americans the Right to Know (DARK) Act failed to garner enough votes for cloture by a vote of 49-48, effectively defeating the bill. The bill introduced by Senator Roberts (R-KS) faced bi-partisan rejection. The bill would have preempted the genetically engineered food labeling laws in Vermont, Connecticut, Maine and Alaska. In its place it would have put a voluntary labeling scheme that relies primarily on QR codes, websites and call in numbers to inform consumers about the presence of GMOs.

“The defeat of the DARK Act is a major victory for the food movement and America’s right to know,” said Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director of the Center for Food Safety. “It also is an important victory for Democracy over the attempt of corporate interests to keep Americans in the Dark about the foods they buy and feed their families.” Kimbrell concluded.

Only 64 percent of Americans own a smartphone. That means that more than a third of all Americans will not be able to use this ersatz form of labeling. Moreover, as one would expect, those left out are disproportionately the poor and those living in non-urban areas. According to Pew Research Center, only 50% of low income people in the U.S. own a smartphone and only 52% of people living in rural areas own a smartphone. And even those who own smartphones are not guaranteed consistent access to the internet, and far fewer than that have ever used a QR code - less than 20 percent. Smartphones and data plans are expensive, and nearly half those who have smartphones have had to shut off their service at some point due to financial hardship.

Center for Food Safety sent a letter to all members of the Senate pointing out that the Robert’s bill was discriminatory against low income and rural Americans, minorities and the elderly, in that large percentages of these groups do not even own smartphones. Accordingly a legal analysis provided by CFS to the Senate indicated that the bill was potentially unconstitutional and a violation of equal protection under the law. The CFS letter also noted that no consumer would ever have the time to check all their products through call in numbers or QR codes and that the bill was in fact a non-labeling bill under the guise of a labeling bill. The bill also raised serious question about consumer privacy.




Read more: http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/press-releases/4301/latest-industry-effort-to-block-gmo-food-labeling-defeated-in-senate