Obama, veto dark act

No Good Reason

July 13, 2016 | Katherine Paul

Organic Consumers Association

Today, Congress rammed through a bill that is anti-consumer and anti-states’ rights.

And President Obama is expected to sign it very soon.

Please help us flood the White House with calls today (202-456-1111 or 202-456-1414) asking Obama to veto S. 764. If you’re in the D.C. area, please join our rally at the White House, Friday, July 15, at 1 p.m. in Lafayette Park.

It’s also not too late to sign these two petitions asking Obama to veto the DARK Act. Please sign here and here. We will deliver the petitions tomorrow, Friday July 15.

Why would President Obama sign the DARK Act, a bill that will preempt Vermont’s GMO labeling law and is clearly intended to hide information from consumers?

We can’t think of a single good reason.

This is the President who on the campaign trail promised to label GMOs.

This is the President who soon after he was sworn in, issued an executive order advising Congress not to preempt state laws. The DARK Act would unnecessarily preempt more than 100 state laws, some of which have been in place for decades.

And yet, according to news reports, Obama plans to sign this bill that denies the 90 percent of Americans the right to know what’s in their food by hiding that information behind confusing QR codes that require expensive smartphones, reliable internet service—and a whole lot of extra time on their hands.

Here’s what Rep. James McGovern (D-Mass.) has to say about the DARK Act:

One-in-five Americans in the U.S. does not have smartphones. That includes 50 percent of Americans who are low-income and living in rural areas, and over 65 percent of elderly Americans. If we end up going down the route of a QR code, all of these people will be prevented from accessing the information that this bill is supposed to make available to all consumers. And even if someone has a smartphone, they will have to scan every single item they purchase in order to obtain the desired information, and this is assuming they will have access to the internet in the grocery store. That’s anything but a quick response.
 
It is a bad idea. It is a bad idea. It is an intentional measure to deny consumers information. 

Even House Ag Committee Chair Mike Conaway said in a statement the bill is “riddled with ambiguity.” And then he voted for it anyway. Because Conaway answers to Monsanto and Big Food, not his constituents.

TAKE ACTION: Tell President Obama to veto the DARK Act! Sign here and here.

Tweet Obama: @POTUS. 90% of Americans want GMO labels. Veto the DARK Act which allows confusing QR codes instead of labels.

Call the White House 202-456-1111 or 202-456-1414 to leave your comment! The comment line is open from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday.

Join the anti-DARK Act rally at the White House, Friday, July 15, 1 p.m., 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. (Lafayette Park)