Koch-backed law seeks to block GMO labeling [View all]

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Written by Lisa Neff,

Koch Industries’ favorite congressman recently introduced a bill to restrict the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s ability to mandate GMO labeling and block states from requiring labels for genetically engineered food.

Proponents of labeling call the measure introduced by U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo of Kansas the “Deny Americans the Right to Know Act,” aka the “DARK Act.”

Pompeo, a Republican, received more contributions in recent elections from the energy giant Koch Industries than any other congressional member, according to the environmental advocacy group Friends of the Earth.

The lawmaker said he reintroduced the Keep Food Safe and Affordable Act with co-sponsorship from eight Democrats and nine Republicans. The measure contains a new provision to allow food-producers to voluntarily label products as GMO-free through a USDA-accredited certification process.

But Lisa Archer, food and technology program director of Friends of the Earth, called the measure a “chemical and junk food industry dream bill.”

She said the legislation would “set in stone the current, voluntary labeling system that has failed consumers and would replace strong, independent, non-GMO certification with a weak federal program, adding more confusion for consumers who have a right to know what’s in their food.”

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http://www.wisconsingazette.com/environment/koch-backed-law-seeks-to-block-gmo-labeling.html