Obama Ready to Sign Food-Label Bill Consumer Groups Dislike
Source: Bloomberg, 11 hours ago
The White House plans to support legislation creating a national labeling standard for foods containing genetically modified organisms even though consumer groups criticize the bill for allowing information to live behind special codes, and for exempting meat and eggs.
While there is broad consensus that foods from genetically engineered crops are safe, we appreciate the bipartisan effort to address consumers interest in knowing more about their food, including whether it includes ingredients from genetically engineered crops, White House spokeswoman Katie Hill said in an e-mail. "We look forward to tracking its progress in the House and anticipate the president would sign it in its current form.
The Senate-passed labeling bill, S. 764, is to be taken up in the House this week. The chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, Republican Mike Conaway of Texas, has signaled his approval, making it more likely the proposal will pass the chamber and end up on Obamas desk.
Under the legislation, which has been pushed for by companies including Monsanto Co., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and groups including the National Corn Growers Association, consumers may still find it hard to figure out if the food they are buying is genetically modified, leading opponents to dub the bill the DARK Act.
Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-07-13/obama-ready-to-sign-food-label-bill-consumer-groups-find-suspect
roody
(10,849 posts)840high
(17,196 posts)Response to proverbialwisdom (Original post)
Name removed Message auto-removed
Matthew28
(1,798 posts)Science has done so much for humanity it isn't even funny, but what the heck, lets stop attempting to feed more people.
George II
(67,782 posts)....(emphasize MAY) kill people after 30 years. We should let them starve in 10 years.
Scuba
(53,475 posts)The new talking point represents a brilliant strategy to promote genetic engineering. Most people do not want to be characterized as anti-science, not journalists, not public officials, not celebrities, and least of all, not trained and educated scientists. Furthermore, the propaganda plays to pro-science liberals who have accused conservatives of being anti-science due to their denial of climate change.
Unlike anthropogenic climate change, though, there is absolutely no scientific consensus on the safety of GMOs. In fact, each and every new GMO needs to be fully tested individually for its safety, because each genetic modification confers a not only a novel gene into the genome, but also a possible genetic interaction within the genome. The notion that one gene always only controls one trait is known to be far too simplistic. Often, many genes function in concert to produce traits, and sections of DNA can also turn traits on or off. Therefore, inserting novel genes into DNA sequences may affect untargeted traits in unpredictable ways.
Additionally, most GMOs are not tested for safety. Not only does federal policy unscientifically delegate GMO crops as substantially equivalent to conventional crops, independent research on environmental effects and health effects (via animal feeding studies) is hampered by industry in a large part due to patents preventing the study and use of GM seeds and crops. Feeding studies that have occurred, most of which have been funded by industry, have been mired with problems such as contaminated feed and methodological corruption that render their results invalid.
karynnj
(59,511 posts)It simply required a label.
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)How precisely (and with relevance, please) does simple labeling prevent feeding more people?
bucolic_frolic
(43,511 posts)Looks to me like the common ingredient is Economic Interest Wallet-Lining Science
Night Watchman
(743 posts)Well then, we know this bill is for the good of the people! (Do you REALLY need the sarc emoji on this one?)
proverbialwisdom
(4,959 posts)Last edited Thu Jul 14, 2016, 12:55 AM - Edit history (1)
http://www.publicpower.org/media/daily/ArticleDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=46018http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/01/business/monsanto-could-benefit-from-a-chemical-safety-bill.html
The American Public Power Association article is opaque, but its celebratory tone leads me to suspect the lobbyists prevailed.
proverbialwisdom
(4,959 posts)Email, 11 hours ago
Yesterday, the House Rules Committee voted to proceed on the Senates fake GMO labeling bill, sending this new DARK Act to the House floor for a final vote as soon as today! That means this bill could be on Obamas desk to signor vetoas early as tomorrow.
Sadly, the White House has indicated that President Obama is ready to sign this sham of a GMO labeling bill into law - Call President Obama right now and urge him to veto the DARK Act!
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Call President Obama and urge him to veto this sham of a labeling bill
Call 202-456-1111 or 202-456-1414 to leave your comment!
The comment line is open from 9am - 5pm ET Monday through Friday
When you call, you can say something like:
I urge President Obama to veto the sham GMO labeling bill heading to his desk from the House. The FDA has commented that this bill would not even cover most current GMO foods. So it is a non-labeling bill masquerading as a labeling bill. The bill is also profoundly discriminatory. Instead of mandating clear on-package labels, this bill gives corporations the power to hide GE labeling behind digital QR codes that can only be read by smart phones. But 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 form of labeling. Moreover, those left out are mainly low income and rural Americans, which will disproportionately impact minorities.
We need a GMO labeling law that actually applies to all the GE foods in the marketplace and that assures the right to know of every American. Please veto this discriminatory and poorly written bill. Send it back to Congress until they get it right.
Then let us know you called: http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/1881/p/salsa/web/questionnaire/public/?questionnaire_KEY=1847
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When President Obama was running for office in 2008, he promised hed label GMOs as President. This is President Obamas last chance to get GMO labeling right by vetoing this sham labeling bill and supporting mandatory words on the package.
Call President Obama NOW and tell him to veto this fake GMO labeling bill - Call 202-456-1111 or 202-456-1414
Thanks for everything you do,
The Center for Food Safety team
bemildred
(90,061 posts)HuckleB
(35,773 posts)The fear mongering conspiracy theory stuff you post at DU about this topic does not change that reality.
proverbialwisdom
(4,959 posts)Today Reverend Jesse Jackson urged President Obama to veto the GMO labeling bill that is currently before the House, should it reach his desk. In a letter sent directly to the president the renowned civil rights activist called attention to the serious inequities (in the) GMO labeling legislation. In the letter Jackson points out the discriminatory nature of such a labeling system; 100,000,000 Americans, most of them poor, people of color and elderly either do not own a smart phone or an iPhone to scan the QR code or live in an area of poor internet connectivity.
LETTER: http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/files/jesse-jackson-letter-to-obama_12626.pdf
Info from Center for Food Safety email.
Bragi
(7,650 posts)The problem I see is that just about every prepared food made in the US contain at least some GMO ingredients.
It would be easier to label food that is "GMO free" by those who choose to market their products that way. They could certify GMO free in a similar way as organics are certified.
If we insist on labelling for the presence of GMO ingredients, then we might as well put up a sign on the front door of every grocery store in America saying "Unless otherwise indicated, all food sold here contains GMO ingredients."
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)"then we might as well put up a sign on the front door of every grocery store in America..."
Does that apply to preservatives as well? They are in fact, listed and labeled on packaging, but I've yet to see a grocery store with a placard in front reading "Unless otherwise indicated, all food sold here contains preservatives."
Bragi
(7,650 posts)Preservatives are measureable ingredients. GMOs aren't.