The “DARK Act” Suffers Bipartisan Defeat in the Senate
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today a bipartisan group of senators voted to block Sen. Pat Roberts’ (R-Kan.) legislation, dubbed the Deny Americans the Right to Know (DARK) Act, which would have prevented Vermont and other states from labeling genetically modified foods. The bill would have put in place a discriminatory and voluntary system reliant on QR codes, websites and toll-free numbers to disclose GMO content. A similar bill, which passed last year in the House, took away states’ rights to label and regulate GMO crops.
So many organizations, from the Environmental Working Group, to Center for Food Safety, to Just Label It to celebrities, parents and millenials strongly support mandatory GMO labeling. In the last few weeks, Americans have been bold and courageous in their advocacy and outreach to their Senators, sharing their concerns and their strong desire to bring GMO labeling to America.
Today, it worked.
We join millions of Americans and all of these organization and applaud the senators who stood against the DARK Act, a desperate attempt by chemical corporations to keep Americans in the dark about how our food is made and how pervasive their products have become.
Today, more than 90 percent of Americans want GMO labeling. Americans want to join the 64 countries around the world where GMOs are already labeled. The demand is unprecedented. As Friends of the Earth stated, “The bipartisan defeat of this bill is a testament to the strength of the movement for a truly sustainable, healthy and transparent food system.”
And we join them in urging the Senate to stand strong against any proposals that fall short of clear, on-package labels that allow Americans to make an informed choice about what they eat.
Moms need labels on their packages when they are shopping, not apps to download. Anything less than that falls short. Anything else that suggests disclosure could come via smartphones, “QR codes”, websites or toll-free numbers discriminates against too many Americans. We believe that all Americans have the right to know how their food is made, that all Americans deserve transparency. We believe in liberty and justice for all, especially when it comes to our food.
Source: Friends of the Earth
