View source for Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2014

{{Show badges|FoodRightsNetwork}}The '''Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2014''' (HR 4432) has been nicknamed the '''"Deny Americans the Right-to-Know Act,"''' or '''DARK Act''' by critics. Introduced on April 9, 2014 by Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS),<ref>United States Congress, [http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/4432 House Bill 4432], governmental website, accessed May 2014.</ref> the bill would prohibit states from passing their own state-wide laws to label [[genetically modified organisms]] (GMOs), prevent states from ensuring that GMOs can't be labeled as "natural," and make "voluntary labeling" the continuing federal standard.<ref>U.S. Congress, [http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/4432/text House Bill 4432 text], Sec. 104 "Preemption" (c), Sec. 201 "Labeling of Natural Foods" (aa)(3), and Sec. 425 "Labeling of Whether Food is Bioengineered" (b)(3)(A), governmental website, accessed May 2014.</ref>

The bill is backed by the [[Grocery Manufacturers Association]] (GMA) and "dozens of other food groups," according to ''Politico''.<ref>Jenny Hopkinson, [http://www.politico.com/morningagriculture/0414/morningagriculture13474.html Pompeo to push industry GMO bill – House GOP: No plans to retire ‘fast track’ with Camp – EPA denies pesticide drift petition], ''Politico'', April 1, 2014.</ref> It is co-sponsored by Rep. G.K. Butterfield, (D-NC), Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT), Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY).<ref>U.S. Congress, [http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/4432/cosponsors House Bill 4432 Cosponsors], governmental website, accessed May 2014.</ref> It was referred to the Subcommittee on Health on April 11, 2014.<ref>U.S. Congress, [http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/4432/committees House Bill 4432 Committeees], governmental website, accessed May 2014.</ref>

Optional, as opposed to mandatory, GMO labeling has been called "absolutely ineffective" by advocates of the public's "right to know" about GMOs in food, as the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) has reported.<ref>Rebekah Wilce, [https://www.prwatch.org/news/2014/03/12415/grocery-manufacturers-association-seeks-pre-empt-gmo-food-labeling Grocery Manufacturers Association Seeks to Pre-empt GMO Food Labeling], ''PRWatch'', March 6, 2014.</ref>

[[Monsanto]], the GMA, and other agribusiness and food industry interests spent more than $67 million to (narrowly) defeat state initiatives for GMO labeling in California and Washington.<ref>Michele Simon, [http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/1/grocery-manufacturersassociationfoodlobbygmolabeling.html Big Food's Arrogant Move in the GMO Labeling Wars], ''Al Jazeera'', January 17, 2014.</ref> A 2013 ''New York Times'' poll showed that 93 percent of U.S. voters favor requiring labels on genetically engineered (GE) foods and ingredients.<ref>Allison Kopicki, [http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/28/science/strong-support-for-labeling-modified-foods.html?smid=tw-share&_r=5& Strong Support for Labeling Modified Foods], ''New York Times'', July 27, 2013.</ref> Sixty-four other countries already require labeling of GMOs in foods.<ref>Center for Food Safety, [http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/files/labeling_fact-sheet_35682.pdf GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOOD: THE LABELING DEBATE], organizational fact sheet, April 2013.</ref>