- The Senate sheds a little light on the food supply
- An unexpected “tidal wave” may have swayed the Senate
- Vermont doesn’t have to change its plans.
Dear Reader,
On Wednesday, the United States Senate rejected the DARK Act.
The DARK Act, also known as the Deny Americans the Right to Know Act, was designed to make state-level GMO labelling laws illegal nationwide.
Around a year ago, the bill was reintroduced into the House under the deceptive name the Safe and Accurate Food Labelling Act.
However, due to its power to keep the FDA from creating a mandatory GMO labelling law, as well as preventing states from implementing their own GMO labelling laws, it was quickly renamed the DARK Act by those who opposed it.
In addition, the bill would have also reversed Vermont’s current GMO labelling laws set to go in effect this July.
The House passed the bill last in July 2015, and last month the Senate began hearings on it. It went up for vote on Wednesday morning, but the Senate failed to get enough votes to pass it. Sixty votes were required, and it received only 44 — not exactly a landslide, but enough to get the job done.
If the DARK Act had slid through Congress, the entire country, not just Vermont, would’ve been left in the dark about the genetically modified ingredients in our food.
Amazing! The government took a step in the right direction for the health of the people.
And it may be because of you. If you took the time to call your senator, it seems you weren’t alone. Per Natural News, many U.S. senators experienced a “tidal wave of calls” from the public.
Thanks to all of you who took action against the DARK Act!
Scott Faber, senior vice president for governmental affairs for the Environmental Working Group, the organization that housed a petition against the DARK Act on their website, reports:
Consumers have made their voices heard to their elected representatives in the Senate and they said clearly, “We want the right to know more about our food.” We are pleased that the Senate made the right decision to stop the DARK Act, and we remain hopeful that congressional leaders can craft a national mandatory compromise that works for consumers and the food industry. We applaud Sens. Debbie Stabenow, Jeff Merkley, Jon Tester, Barbara Boxer, and Pat Leahy for their efforts to defeat the DARK Act.
While it’s likely Big Food and Washington maybe plotting a new strategy to get GMOs in your food, at least, for now, you will know about it.
Live well,
Natalie Moore
Managing editor, Living Well Daily
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