House of Representatives passes anti-GMO labelling law

Measure was approved 275-150 with 45 Democrats voting for the bill

As the second article below notes, HR 1599 would repeal existing state GMO labelling laws, such as Vermont’s Act 120, and would preempt any future state or federal laws requiring mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods or foods containing GMOs.

1. UPDATE 2-U.S. House passes anti-GMO labeling law
2. You don't matter to Congress. But Monsanto does
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1. UPDATE 2-U.S. House passes anti-GMO labeling law

Carey Gillam
Reuters, 23 July 2015
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/07/23/reuters-america-update-2-us-house-passes-anti-gmo-labeling-law.html

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a hotly debated measure that blocks any mandatory labeling of foods made with genetically engineered crops, including pre-empting a state law set to take effect next year in Vermont.

Dubbed the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act by supporters, but the "Deny Americans the Right to Know" or DARK Act, by opponents, the measure was approved 275-150 with 45 Democrats voting for the bill.

House passage marks a victory for food and agricultural companies that have lobbied for the bill, and a blow to opponents, which include consumer, health and environmental groups, and organic food industry players.

House members had a heated debate ahead of the vote with supporters claiming GMOs are proven safe. They said mandatory labeling would burden the food industry with unwieldy and costly requirements.

Opponents countered that 64 other countries require labeling of GMO foods, the science on safety is mixed, and consumers have a right to know if their food is made with GMOs.

"It (the bill) makes it impossible for people to know what they are purchasing and eating. It is an attack on transparency,' said Representative John Conyers Jr., a Democrat, in floor debate.

Representative G.K. Butterfield, also a Democrat, said the bill would require regulators to examine the safety profile of new GMO foods, replacing a voluntary consultation process, and set a national standard for voluntary GMO labeling.

"It (the bill) gives consumers certainty while taking into account the delicate balance and sheer size and complexity of the food supply chain that...is responsible for feeding the country," Butterfield said during the floor debate.

The Grocery Manufacturers Association, which represents more than 300 food companies, has been a key architect of the bill, aiming to squelch state efforts to force labeling of GMO foods.

Opponents of the bill said they see it stalling in the Senate but supporters said they are finding growing support.

Those who want to see mandatory labeling say that among their concerns about GMO foods is a worry that the herbicide glyphosate, which is widely used on genetically modified crops, is harmful to human health. Residues of the pesticide have been detected in foods and a World Health Organization research unit earlier this year said glyphosate was "probably" cancer-causing for humans.

(Reporting by Carey Gillam in Kansas City; additional reporting by Richard Cowan in Washington; Editing by Ken Wills and Christian Plumb)
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2. You don't matter to Congress. But Monsanto does

Organic Consumers Association, 23 July 2015
http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50865/t/0/blastContent.jsp?email_blast_KEY=1326250
[visit the URL above for links to donations facility or go to: https://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50865/p/salsa/donation/common/public/?donate_page_KEY=12138]

Dear Organic Consumer,

Today, 275 members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of H.R. 1599, the DARK (Deny Americans the Right to Know) Act. By voting for the DARK Act, these politicians voted against truth and transparency, against science, against the more than century-old right of states to legislate on matters relating to food safety and labeling.

They voted against the 90-percent of Americans who are in favor of mandatory labeling of GMOs. They voted against the producers of non-GMO foods.

They voted against you.

Please help us raise $100,000 to prevent this bill from moving forward. Your donation today will go directly to fund additional lobbyists and grassroots organizers so this bill never becomes law. You can donate online now, or by mail or phone. Details here.

Now that the DARK Act has been approved by the House, we’ll have to stop it in the Senate. We have to move fast—because Monsanto is desperate to pass a bill that preempts mandatory GMO labeling laws at the state and federal levels, before Vermont’s GMO labeling law takes effect next year.

H.R. 1599 was sold to Congress via multi-million dollar public relations and lobbying campaigns built on lies and deception. The bill’s sole purpose is to support an industry—Monsanto’s poison-peddling industry—that was founded on lies and deception from the get-go.

Were the Congress members who voted against you fooled by Monsanto’s slick, deceitful packaging of this so-called “Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act”? Or did they simply vote with their wallets, stuffed full of biotech and junk food industry cash?

We don’t know. But we know this: We can’t let this bill get through the U.S. Senate.

Less than 24 hours before the House vote, the industry-funded front group behind H.R. 1599 was still pushing out the lies. The “Coalition for Safe and Affordable Food,” feigning concern for consumers, emailed members urging them to support the DARK Act because if we require mandatory labeling, it will increase the cost of your food by $500/year. That lie has been debunked over and over, by legitimate independent studies. It’s a lie based on a study funded by, and which remains the intellectual property of, the Council for Biotech Information—of which Monsanto is a member.

Less than 24 hours before the House vote, a staffer in the office of the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Mike Pompeo, told a caller that the DARK Act gives consumers what they want: the means to know whether or not their food contains GMOs. “Consumers can choose to presume that all foods have GMO contents unless they are labeled or otherwise presented as non-GMO. Meaning that it is knowable and it is known by the public which products have GMO and which don't,” claimed a Pompeo minion.

More lies. The DARK Act creates a voluntary, government-run non-GMO certification program. Unless every producer of non-GMO products pays to have those products certified non-GMO, consumers will still have no way of knowing which products contain GMOs, and which don’t. And why should the burden of labeling fall on the producers of non-GMO foods, when the risk factor is associated with those foods that do contain GMOs?

H.R. 1599 would repeal existing state GMO labeling laws, such as Vermont’s Act 120, and would preempt any future state or federal laws requiring mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods or foods containing GMOs. That’s unconstitutional, according to the Campaign for Liberty, which said this in a statement yesterday:

Whatever your views on GMOs, there is no Constitutional justification for the federal government to preempt state laws in this area. There certainly is no justification for Congress to preempt private sector efforts to meet consumer demands for non-GMO foods, while allowing those who support the use of GMOs to do so.

Yet 275 members of the U.S. House today voted against the U.S. Constitution. And if we don’t stop them, a majority of U.S. Senators could do the same.

You are part of a growing movement, informed by science and motivated by concern for your health and the health of the planet. Ours is a powerful movement. But we are up against powerful industries with bottomless pockets.

If we are going to stop the federal government from taking away our right to demand truth and transparency in labeling, we will have to double or triple our size and our impact. And we have to do it now.

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