Will Consumers Be GMO Labeling 'Fools'?
March 31, 2016
Organic Consumers Association
Tomorrow, in observance of April Fools Day, OCA activists will deliver jester hats to several key U.S. Senators, along with this message: Thank you for voting against the Sen. Pat Roberts’ (R-Kan.) DARK Act (S.2609) Please don’t make fools of the nine out of 10 voters who want GMO foods labeled by accepting a compromise version of the bill in order to preempt, or delay implementation, of Vermont’s GMO labeling law. Why the jester headwear? Because we know that several of the Senators who voted against the DARK Act on March 16, are on record as wanting to preempt Vermont’s law. We believe they’re just waiting for Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) to introduce a compromise bill—and then they’ll turn right around and betray you. Who are those Senators? Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.). What will they do when Congress reconvenes and the Senate takes up the DARK Act again? It’s anybody’s guess—but we guess they’ll vote to preempt Vermont by supporting some sort of compromise to the DARK Act. (More on these Senators, and next steps on the DARK Act here). OCA rejects any federal labeling bill unless it meets or exceeds the standards set by Vermont, and does not preempt or delay implementation of Vermont’s bill. Since there’s less than a snowball’s chance in hell Congress will pass such a law, we think Congress should stop fooling around, get out of the way, and let Vermont’s law proceed on schedule. Here’s why: • There is no constitutional basis for preempting
Vermont, according to this
legal analysis by a Republican firm, and according to U.S. District
Judge Christina Reiss's March 27, 2015
84-page ruling against the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA)
and other industry groups' request for a preliminary order to block the
Vermont law. Judge Reiss said: “The safety of food products, the
protection of the environment and the accommodation of religious beliefs
and practices are all quintessential governmental interests, as is the
state’s desire to promote informed consumer decision-making.” Multinational food companies are already beginning to remove GMOs, or label them in all 50 states. Once corporations are required to state “produced with genetic engineering” on products that contain GMOs, consumers will either choose to buy them, or choose not to buy them. Depending on what consumers do, food companies will decide whether or not to keep selling products with GMO ingredients, or remove the GMO ingredients. That’s how a free market is supposed to work—with informed consumers driving demand. But unless laws mandate these labels, corporations can choose not to label, or they can tell consumers they will label, but then set their own "standards" for labeling which could include high thresholds and loopholes in order to avoid labeling. "Voluntary" is not an acceptable standard. TAKE ACTION: Tell your Senators: No compromise! Protect Vermont’s GMO labeling law Dial 888-897-0174 to tell your Senators to vote against any compromise that would block or delay Vermont's bill from taking effect. Help us protect Vermont’s GMO labeling law https://www.organicconsumers.org/blog/will-consumers-be-gmo-labeling-fools
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