Dear Donna,
This afternoon, the House of Representatives will vote on H.R. 1599 - Monsanto's Poison Pill - to make it illegal for states to pass common sense bills to label GMO foods, prohibit state or county GMO bans or regulate GMOs in any way. While the bill's author, Congressman Mike Pompeo (R-KS) calls it the “Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act” , it's really a poison pill for democracy, our Constitution, our health, and the planet.
After spending more than $100 million in the past 3 years to kill GMO labeling in the U.S., Monsanto is getting desperate because the American public is catching on and now they've struck a backroom deal with Congress from ever having to label their genetically engineered foods in America. We need all hands on deck to stop it!
Take a stand! Tell Congress: “I support GMO labeling!” The Monsanto Protection Act is back and worse than ever! Every voice counts!
Three months ago the World Health Organization declared glyphosate a "probable" carcinogen and now Congress is getting ready to exempt Monsanto's GMOs from being labeled here in America - the question is, who does your member of Congress really work for? You or Monsanto?
No matter what you think about GMOs, WE have to end Monsanto's corruption of our food supply and our democracy.
The latest additions to Pompeo’s deceitfully named bill would only further enshrine regulatory incompetence here in the United States and permanently preserve the illusion of government oversight of GMO crops put in place when Monsanto’s former attorney Michael Taylor originally wrote the rules of “substantial equivalence” that currently deny Americans the right to know if their food has been genetically engineered.
What the Monsanto's Poison Pill, or the “Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act” (H.R. 1599), will do if passed:
1. Forbid states from labeling GMO foods or enforcing existing labeling laws passed in Connecticut, Maine and Vermont.
2. Prohibit any state or local county and city oversight of GMO crops, even when the federal government has declined or failed to regulate them.
3. Weaken already impotent federal regulations on GMO crops at USDA and FDA.
4. Allow GMOs to be labeled as "natural"!
This afternoon, the House of Representatives WILL VOTE on Pompeo’s dangerous new bill and we need your help to stop this outrageous, undemocratic, unconstitutional bill. We can’t let Monsanto get away with killing the growing grassroots movement to hold them accountable, especially when glyphosate, the main chemical ingredient in their weedkiller Roundup, which more than 90 percent of GMO crops have been engineered to withstand, was recently declared a probable cancer-causing agent by the World Health Organization.
In the past 3 years, more than 30 states have introduced bills or ballot initiatives to require GMO labeling – and because of this growing grassroots movement, mandatory GMO labeling laws have passed in Connecticut, Maine and Vermont.
Now Monsanto’s getting more desperate than ever.
If members of Congress vote to pass Monsanto Poison Pill it will preempt states' rights, outlaw state GMO labeling and reverse recent victories like bans on GMO crops passed in Jackson and Josephine Counties in Oregon and Maui, which passed by popular votes to protect organic seed and community health in these states last year.
Remember, democracy is like a muscle, either you use it or you lose it!
Thanks for participating in food democracy,
Dave, Lisa and the Food Democracy Now! Team
