Congratulations – you defeated the DARK Act!

After months of phone calls and emails to your Senators, today the Deny Americans the Right to Know (DARK) Act failed to garner enough votes to stop debate on the DARK Act, effectively defeating the bill! The bill would have preempted the genetically engineered food labeling laws in Vermont, Connecticut, Maine and Alaska.  In its place it would have put a voluntary labeling scheme that relies primarily on QR codes, websites and call in numbers to inform consumers about the presence of GMOs.   

But QR code labeling discriminates against low income populations, minorities, rural populations and the elderly. They are a completely unacceptable substitute for clear, concisely worded on package labeling. The right to know is a right for all, not just those who can afford it.

Only 64 percent of Americans own a smartphone. Moreover, as one would expect, those left out are disproportionately the poor and those living in non-urban areas. According to Pew Research Center, only 50% of low income people in the U.S. own a smartphone and only 52% of people living in rural areas own a smartphone. And even those who own smartphones are not guaranteed consistent access to the internet, and far fewer than that have ever used a QR code - less than 20 percent. Smartphones and data plans are expensive, and nearly half those who have smartphones have had to shut off their service at some point due to financial hardship. So at the end of the day, this form of “labeling” would leave more than a third of Americans in the dark about their food.

The defeat of the DARK Act is a major victory for the food movement and America’s right to know, and we couldn’t have done it without your support – THANK YOU! 

With Vermont’s GE labeling law set to go into effect July 1 2016, big food and biotechnology interests have repeatedly attempted to block its implementation, both through the courts and in Congress. The industry has for months sought action by Congress that would preempt states from passing GE labeling laws.While we won today, we know there will be more attempts to come up with a “compromise” to limit your right to know – but together, we can defeat that, too.

Thank you for your tremendous support in defeating this anti-democratic, anti-consumer bill,