Veto the GMO Labeling Bill!

A “liar labeling” bill that actually avoids labeling has been approved by Congress and now must be signed by the President.

The public is being told the Roberts-Stabenow bill is a “mandatory labeling” bill, but don’t be fooled—it is a complete sham designed to avoid real mandatory labeling. Companies can choose how to label their food, and many will force consumers to use a smartphone to scan a bar code on a product’s label. In addition, there are no penalties for mislabeling food, so a company can simply ignore the law with impunity.

In a further analysis of the bill, we found something even more troubling. There are provisions that could be interpreted to take away companies’ ability to label their food as non-GMO!

One provision states that foods not required by the bill to label as GMO cannot then claim they are non-GMO by default. So far so good. But elsewhere in the bill, there is language that says it is sufficient for a food that is certified by the USDA’s organic program to be labeled as non-GMO.

While these sentences may seem innocuous, we think they may be intended down the road to allow Big Food to sue companies not part of the USDA’s certified organic program if they label their food as non-GMO. Keep in mind that many small family farm producers who are actually making organic products do not have the resources to go through the USDA’s costly and lengthy organic certification process. If this bill takes away their ability to label their food as non-GMO, this bill will make the present situation even worse for them.

Write to President Obama and urge him to veto this legislation!

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President Joseph 'Joe' R. Biden

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Please veto the GMO labeling bill

Dear [Decision Maker],

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I was troubled to see that the GMO "labeling" bill passed recently, as there are grave concerns with the bill.

Companies can choose how to label their food, and many will force consumers to use a smartphone to scan a bar code on a product's label. In addition, there are no penalties for mislabeling food, so a company can simply ignore the law with impunity.

By allowing scannable QR codes, this bill discriminates against the elderly, the poor, and rural populations, substantial portions of whom do not own smartphones. Big Food knows that even those who do own smartphones don't scan these codes: a recent national survey showed that only 16% of consumers have ever scanned a QR code for any purpose.

There is another problem. One provision states that foods not required by the bill to label as GMO cannot then claim they are non-GMO by default. So far so good. But elsewhere in the bill, there is language that says it is sufficient for a food that is certified by the USDA's organic program to be labeled as non-GMO.

While these sentences may seem innocuous, they may be intended down the road to allow Big Food to sue companies not part of the USDA's certified organic program if they label their food as non-GMO. Many small family farm producers who are actually making organic products do not have the resources to go through the USDA's costly and lengthy organic certification process. If this bill takes away their ability to label their food as non-GMO, this bill will make the present situation even worse for them.

For these reasons, I urge you, Mr. President, to veto this bill when it comes across your desk.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State ZIP]