The fight over the DARK Act (H.R. 1599) or Deny Americans the Right to Know Act is far from over as reports stream in that more big name companies that back the controversial bill have also pumped in millions of dollars to make sure the bill becomes federal law.
Whether GMOs are safe or not is not the issue here. The simple fact that a federal law can dictate what is "natural" and not will affect each and every American from coast to coast. The DARK Act is worrisome indeed to those who are serious about protecting their rights and their food.
Th Environment Working Group (EWG) reports, "The legislation blocks state GMO labeling laws, blocks state laws prohibiting "natural" claims on GMO foods, and makes it virtually impossible for FDA to create a mandatory national GMO labeling system."
Why the surge in funding? It is primarily because of the food industry's massive support for the bill. In case you have not been informed, the DARK Act overrides state laws on GMO labeling. That means that there will be no transparency as to what goes into the food made by these big companies.
Companies which used to distance themselves from the issue have now joined the fray. Companies like Unilever and Ocean Spray have each pitched in $640,000 and $100,000 respectively in lobbying the bill.
Here are more numbers, again from EWG. From January of this year to June, the following companies have funded industry lobbyists:
Coca Cola: $5,040,000
PepsiCo: $3,230,000
Kraft: $1,180,000
Kellogg's: $1,130,000
General Mills: $1,100,000
Land O'Lakes: $720,000
Additionally, the Grocery Manufacturers Association reported some $5.1 million in spending on 32 lobbyists to advocate for the bill exclusively. In total, pro-DARK spending is 25 times the amount generated by labeling advocates.
The above information is good to know whether you are pro or anti DARK. But Libby Foley, policy analyst with EWG has this to say, "The gap between the amount of money spent by Big Food and that spent by public interest groups is simply mind-boggling."
These kinds of aggressive measures to pass the law give a very big hint to the motivations of big food companies and should, at the very least, give the American people something to seriously think about.
