You Have a Right to Know What’s in Your Food

If you’ve been following the GMO debate at all, there’s a good chance you’ve already heard of the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015—otherwise known in activist circles as the DARK Act (Denying Americans the Right to Know). Though Democrats have filed important amendments that take aim at the act’s most dangerous sections, the bill as-written would overturn Vermont’s recently passed GMO labeling requirement and prevent other states from enacting them in the future. It also stops the FDA from requiring companies to disclose genetically modified ingredients and allows foods labeled “natural” to contain GMOs. And although the issues associated with GMOs are varied and sometimes disputed (more on that coming soon), as the “DARK” acronym suggests, the passage of this act would be a major attack on our right to know what’s in the food we eat and feed to our children. Not only do 64 countries around the world require labeling, but according to a survey by the Mellman group, 89% of Americans want labeling—across parties and genders, which means this bill flouts what a vast majority of us want and believe.

The House Agriculture Committee passed the act last week and moved it to the house floor, where it will likely come up for a vote next week (if it passes, it will move to the Senate). Let’s kill it before it gets that far—write your representative and tell them to vote “no” on the DARK act!