New rendition of DARK Act appears in the Senate

DARK Act’s return threatens to kill nation’s first GMO labeling law

The DARK Act may have just come back from the dead — and that’s bad news for all of us.

For months I’ve been warning you about this legislation, which would kill labeling of GMO foods.

We all worked together to stop the DARK Act from being passed in March — but now a new bill has surfaced that may be even worse.

It’s a massive handout to companies like Monsanto, and it would keep you from ever knowing whether the food you’re eating is genetically modified.

And when Congress is back in session after the 4th of July holiday, we may have just a few days to try and stop it in its tracks.

The zombie DARK Act

Just a short three months ago we celebrated when the DARK Act (for Deny Americans the Right to Know) was defeated.

It would have slammed the door shut on any state or federal GMO labeling laws, even though polls have showed that most Americans want GMOs labeled.

At the time I said that, although we won that battle, the war might not be over yet. And that we can’t let our guard down.

Well, now it’s time to act, and act fast. Because should this new bill go forward, any legitimate GMO labeling, such as what is going into effect in Vermont on July 1st, will be out the window.

This legislation is called the Roberts-Stabenow GMO labeling bill, proposed by Sens. Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan). And it’s nothing more than a zombie DARK Act coming back to haunt us.

Stabenow is a favorite of Dow Chemical, the manufacturer of a new Roundup herbicide. Dow, in fact, is her top contributor. Roberts is the chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee — and the guy who first introduced the DARK Act in the Senate.

Here’s what this Christmas-in-July present to the GMO industry is all about. First, it would remove the biggest thorn ever from Monsanto and other GMO companies — the Vermont labeling law starting up this Friday.

Big Food companies such as Campbell’s Soup and General Mills are already shipping products with labels saying whether they’re made using any GMOs, in anticipation of the Vermont law. But believe me, those labels will be ditched in the blink of an eye should the Roberts-Stabenow bill go ahead.

Second, the bill will permit the FDA to set the bar on GMO “thresholds” so out of reach that “many, or most” of these Frankenfood ingredients wouldn’t have to be listed at all, according to the Organic Consumers Association (OCA).

And the most outrageous part of all in this bill is a special loophole that could allow corn and soy — the two biggest GMO crops in the U.S. — to somehow be exempt!

But there must be something in this about labeling, right? After all, it is called the “GMO labeling bill.”

Well, there is, but wait until you hear how that would work.

You would have to use a smartphone to scan a special bar code-type label to get any information!

Can you believe it?

Of course that means you would need to own a smartphone, have everything installed (such as an app and bar code reader) and start scanning all the foods you put in your cart. It would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious.

If Campbell’s and General Mills can (and have) easily labeled their products already, then obviously it can be done.

The OCA said that it believes “Monsanto’s hired guns will move heaven and earth to ram this bill through Congress,” and I believe they’re right.

And that’s why we have to act fast.

The DARK Act failed the first time because people like us flooded our members of Congress with phone calls, letters, and emails.

And we need to do it again.

Please contact your Senators today and tell them that how they vote on the Roberts-Stabenow bill will dictate how you vote come election time.

Tell them real GMO labeling is something we all want. And it’s time to stop keeping it from us.

Sources:
“Feds may preempt Vt. GMO law” June 24, 2016, The Times Argus, timesargus.com