Despite the tens of thousands of calls, faxes, tweets, and emails by CFS members like you, the House passed the sham GMO labeling bill on July 14th. The bill now goes to Obama’s desk to be signed or vetoed.



We urgently need you to tell President Obama to veto this new DARK Act!

Though its supporters call it a “labeling” bill, this new DARK Act actually exempts most current GE foods from any labeling. That’s right, according to the FDA’s comments to Congress it would leave out large sectors of GE foods from any labeling requirement. This bill is really a non-labeling law masquerading as a labeling law. The FDA pointed out many other significant problems with the bill that if signed will cause mass consumer and market confusion. Meanwhile the bill preempts the strong GE food labeling laws of Vermont, Connecticut and Maine, the GE fish labeling law of Alaska, and the GE seed labeling laws of Vermont and Virginia - a profound violation of the democratic decision making of millions of Americans.



The bill also gives corporations the power to hide GE labeling by using digital QR codes that can only be read by smartphones. As if anyone had the time to point their smart phone at each and every product they are buying in the supermarket and try and read what it signifies, or access a website, or a call an 800 number.



But these QR codes are not only impossibly burdensome to those who have smartphones, they discriminate against more than a third of all Americans who do not even own these devices.1 That’s more than 100 million Americans! That means that those tens of millions on the “wrong side” of the digital divide will not be able to access GMO information labeled with QR codes. Moreover, those left out are mainly low income, those living in rural areas, and the elderly. According to Pew Research Center, only 50% of low income people in the U.S. own a smartphone; only 52% of rural Americans own a smartphone; and only 27% of seniors own a smartphone.2 Even those who do own smartphones are not guaranteed consistent access to the internet.3



At the end of the day, a substantial majority of Americans would be deprived of their right to know if GMO labeling were done through QR codes.



When President Obama was running for office in 2008, he promised he’d label GMOs as President. This is President Obama’s last chance to get GMO labeling right – by vetoing this sham labeling bill and supporting plain language, mandatory on-package labeling.



Tell President Obama to veto this discriminatory bill and ensure the Right to Know of EVERY American!