Washington, DC: Every 5 years, Congress passes a Food and Farm Bill that dictates food and agriculture policy for decades to come. Today, the Senate will vote on amendment #2310 put forth by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) that clarifies a state's existing rights to require labeling of genetically engineered foods.
In the past year, more than a dozen states have introduced legislation to allow their citizens the right to know what's in their food and how it's produced, but massive corporate lobbying by Monsanto and the biotech industry has brought these bills to a halt in key states like Connecticut and Vermont.
Senator Sanders introduced the "Consumers Right to Know About Genetically Engineered Food Act" last week in an impassioned speech to the Senate floor.
"All over this country, people are becoming more conscious about the foods they are eating and the foods they are serving to their kids, and this is certainly true for genetically engineered foods. I believe that when a mother goes to the store and purchases food for her child, she has the right to know what she is feeding her child," Sanders said on the Senate floor.
Senator Sanders went on to state basic facts about food labeling policies in the US and abroad that should make all Americans think long and hard as to why GMOs are not labeled in America.
"In the United States, food labels already must list more than 3,000 ingredients ranging from gluten, aspartame, high-fructose corn syrup, trans-fats or MSG, but not genetically altered ingredients. Around the world, by contrast, 49 countries require labels on foods that contain genetically engineered ingredients," said Sanders.
Food Democracy Now! is advocating in support of Senator Sander's amendment and in favor of the labeling of genetically-modified foods. Food Democracy Now! members and allies have made over 15,000 phone calls to the Senate.
