Dark Act Highlights

H.R. 1599 The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act passed in the House on July 23, 2015 and may possibly be introduced in the Senate by John Hoeven (R- ND) This bill has also been dubbed “The Dark Act because it would take away states’ rights

• Label foods made with GMO’s
• Protect farmers from genetic contamination, and
• Regulate GMO’s to protect human health or the environment

It would also allow the word “natural” to be used alongside GMOs!

It would also strip the FDA’s powers to:

• Acknowledge the difference between GMOs and normal foods, including the food safety risks of GMOs.
• Conduct systematic pre- market safety assessments of GMOs and
• Require labels on GMOs

It would put labeling standards into the hands of the USDA which would be a watered down labeling law that would require less standards than GMO Verified Project. The following 12 Democrats who have previously voted against states’ rights for GMO labeling in 2013 and may cosponsor or support the DARK Act, are listed below along with the amounts of money they’ve received from various pro GMO corporations.

Sen. Amy Kobluchar (D- Minn) - (202-224- 3244)

• $37, 900 General Mills
• $29,700 Land O’Lakes
• $13,550 Coca- Cola
• $11,500 American Crystal Sugar

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn) - (202-224-3244)

Could not find any donations but he voted against states’ rights to label GMOs in 2013 because it could create a patchwork of regulations which could be costly to corporations and consumers

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill) - (202-224-2152)

Could not find any donations but he also declares he proudly voted against state’s rights to GMO labeling and has stated that labeling food infers that there is something wrong with it; on the flip side, he DID vote to end “corporate inversion and called out Monsanto specifically when they have tried to purchase Syngenta. He was quoted as saying it was clear that, “Monsanto intends to reincorporate overseas as part of its proposed acquisition of Syngenta in order to avoid paying US taxes.”

Sen. Joe Donelly (D-Ind) – (202-224-4814)

• $31,391 Land O’Lakes
• $26, 412 Eli Lily
• $12,500 American Crystal Sugar
• $12,000 Coca- Cola

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D- OH) – (202-224-2315)

Could not find any donations but he is heavily lobbied by Shearer’s Snack Foods in his hometown to support HR1599. He is for a uniform labeling policy but it’s clear he has no idea that HR 1599 will actually prevent consumers from knowing what they are eating.

Sen. Chris Coons (D- Del) – (220-224-5042)

Sen Coons was awarded Top Legislature of the Year 2015 from the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (formerly the Biotechnology Industry Organization). According to Organic Consumers Association, BIO has donated $20, 460, 000 lobbying against GMOs since 2013. Part of BIO Food and Agriculture Section includes Monsanto, Dow, BASF, Bayer, Aqua Bounty Technologies, and Eli Lily

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo) - (202-224-6154)

• $37,774 Monsanto
• $227,000 total contributions from agribusiness
• She is from Monsanto’s home state and may not be first choice to cosponsor the

Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del) – (202-224- 2441)

• $26,100 DuPont
• $13,140 Dow
• $10,000 Eli Lilly

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) – (202- 224- 4744)

Believes that GMOs are inherently safe and that labeling would just confuse and mislead consumers.

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) – (202- 224- 5274)

He has worked to obtain federal funds to fight citrus greening including funds to assist in the development of GMO oranges

Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner (D- VA) – (202-224- 4024) (202- 224- 2023)

2 of the 13 democrats that helped rush fast track trade promotion authority through the senate. This bill included the Monsanto Protection Provision directing the President to “eliminate practices that…distort agricultural markets …..Including….labeling that would affect new technologies, including biotechnology

On a positive note, these three senators have redeemed themselves by cosponsoring the Genetically Engineered Food Right To Know Act:

• Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
• Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D- Mass)
• Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D- NY)

Sen Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich) have indicate they oppose HR1599 and Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D- Wis) and Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa) both support states’ right to label, consumer’s right to know, and the need for pre- market safety testing of GMOs.

Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) – (202-224- 5852) Colorado office (303-455-7600)

• $1,000 Ely Lily
• $2,500 National Corn Growers Assn
• $1,000 Cotton Council
• $1,000 Land O’Lakes

From the www.opensecrets.org website, Michael Bennet has received money from agribusinesses that support gmo products and have contributed to blocking the labeling of gmos. The sum totals $43,700