*** UPDATE ***

The Senate passed the DARK Act shortly after 11pm ET Thursday evening with a final vote of 63-30. The bill will now move to the House where CFS will continue the fight against this discriminatory legislation.

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Law Would Deny More than 100 Million Americans their Right to Know

WASHINGTON— Today the Senate voted to deny one-third of Americans the right to know what is in in the food products they purchase. In a cloture vote of 65-32 the discriminatory, highly-flawed “compromise” GMO labeling bill offered by Senators Stabenow and Roberts, also known as the Deny Americans the Right to Know (DARK) Act, passed through the Senate. This “compromise” bill allows producers to use QR codes and “smart labels” instead of clear, on-package labeling of food products that contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The poorly drafted bill exempts major portions of current and future GMO foods from labeling and is discriminatory against low-income, rural, minorities and elderly populations. The bill as written is also a gross violation of the sovereignty of numerous states, as it preempts the genetically engineered food labeling laws in Vermont, Connecticut, Maine and Alaska

The following is a statement from Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director, Center for Food Safety:

“It is deeply disturbing that a majority in the Senate would support a bill that openly discriminates against America's low income, rural and elderly populations. This denies them their right to know simply because they are not able to afford or have access to smartphones. The bill itself is poorly drafted and would exempt many and perhaps most current genetically engineered foods from labeling. It was written behind closed doors between a handful of Senators and the big chemical and food companies. It is a non-labeling bill disguised as a labeling bill, a sham and a legislative embarrassment.”

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More information:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iTLjMdTHwA

http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/issues/976/ge-food-labeling/press-releases/4301/victory-latest-industry-effort-to-block-gmo-food-labeling-defeated-in-senate

http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/issues/976/ge-food-labeling/about-ge-labeling