The Organic Consumers Association (OCA), Finland, Minn., issued this statement
concerning an agreement reached by U.S. Senate leaders on a bill to preempt
Vermont's GMO labeling bill.
"Today, Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) reached a
deal that tramples on the rights of consumers, and the rights of states like
Vermont to protect their own citizens. Instead, the Senate appears poised to
pass a bill clearly intended to serve the interests of Monsanto and the Grocery
Manufacturers Association," said Ronnie Cummins, international director of
OCA.
"The anti-consumer bill unveiled by Stabenow and Roberts, bought and paid
for by Big Food corporations, nullifies Vermont's mandatory GMO labeling law,
and replaces it with a law that replaces the requirement for clear, on package
labels, with a convoluted, inconvenient and discriminatory scheme involving
barcodes and 1-800 numbers.
"The proposed bill also gives food corporations another two years before they
are even required to pretend to provide consumers with any information at all
about the GMO ingredients in their products. Stabenow and Roberts are
determined to preempt Vermont's law, even though major food corporations such
as General Mills, Campbell's, Pepsi, Frito-Lay, Mars, Kellogg's, ConAgra are
already labeling, to comply with Vermont's July 1 deadline for labeling.
"This pandering to industry is inexcusable, especially when consumers in
64 other countries have the right to know whether or not their food contains
GMOs. We will enlist our more than two million supporters to help us keep this
bill from getting the required 60 votes in the Senate, and if we have to, we
will take this battle all the way to the oval office, and if necessary, launch a
national boycott of all foods that are not organic, grass-fed or labeled
non-GMO."
The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) is an online and grassroots non-profit
501(c)3 public interest organization advocating on behalf of more than one
million consumers for health, justice, and sustainability. The Organic
Consumers Fund is a 501(c)4 allied organization of the Organic Consumers
Association, focused on grassroots lobbying and legislative action.