On July 23, 2015, the United States House of Representatives voted upon and passed (by a 275-150 majority) H.R. 1599, the so-called “Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015,” otherwise known as the DARK Act. The DARK Act is a more accurate description of the bill – which must now be taken up by the Senate – as the acronym “Deny Americans the Right to Know” more aptly tells us what Congress is doing here: Negating all existing and future GMO labeling laws at State and local levels so that consumers will not be able to make an informed choice as well as eliminating numerous non-Federal laws regulating genetically engineered crops.
In particular, the DARK Act – if passed by the Senate and signed into law by Obama – will:
- Preempt State and local laws regarding the production and sale of GMO crops, not just the labeling of GMO foods;