The FDA is not exactly on our side

http://www.organicconsumers.org/bytes/ob396.html

Read PDF | Subscribe & Read Past Issues | OCA Homepage | Donate  ESSAY OF THE WEEK FDA’s Voluntary GMO Labeling Is Good for Monsanto, Bad for Consumers While consumers battle on for laws mandating the labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food products, some lawmakers are taking the GMO labeling debate in a different direction. And it’s a direction that’s anything but consumer friendly. Last month, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) asked the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to finalize its 2001 guidance on voluntary labeling of GMOs. The senators advertised their request as a move intended to benefit you, the consumer. But in fact, a federal voluntary labeling plan plays right into the hands of the biotech and big food industries. Sorry, Senators. But voluntary will never be the new mandatory. If the FDA heeds the request of Senators Warren and Udall, we could see the end of states’ rights to label GMOs. And the end of non-GMO certification and labeling. Not exactly the consumer-friendly sort of advocating we’re looking for. Read the essay ACTION ALERT Whose Side Are They on, Anyway? It’s a pretty safe bet that if Monsanto and the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), two of the largest funders of campaigns to defeat GMO labeling, are in favor of something, that “something” won’t be good for you. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) have signaled support for FDA guidance on voluntary labeling of GMOs. A move to protect consumers? Hardly. After all, Monsanto and the GMA also want the FDA to finalize its voluntary guidance on GMO labeling. And that wouldn’t be true unless the biotech and food industries thought there was something in it for them. What might that something be? Perhaps the path to preemption of states’ rights to label GMOs. Or the end of certified non-GMO labels. Or maybe both. Sometimes it makes sense to contact senators outside your own state, especially when they’re advocating for a law that could hurt all consumers. This is one of those times. Please sign our petition below, and forward it widely. Then pick up the phone and ask Senators Warren and Udall to side with you, not Monsanto and the GMA, by supporting state and federal mandatory GMO labeling laws. TAKE ACTION: Tell Senators Warren and Udall: FDA’s Voluntary GMO Labeling is Good for Monsanto, Bad for Consumers Call Sen. Warren (202) 224-4543 and Sen. Udall at  (202) 224-5941