To the Editor:

Over the past three years, more than 30 states have introduced bills or ballot initiatives to require the labeling of genetically engineered (GE) foods, also known as GMOs (genetically modified organisms).

Three states, Connecticut, Maine, and Vermont, have passed mandatory GE labeling laws. And Massachusetts has a GMO labeling bill in the pipeline at the State House, with more than 75 percent of the legislature (154 out of 200 Massachusetts representatives and senators) co-sponsoring itl.

Despite the massive push for GE/GMO labeling by citizens across the country, U.S. Congressman Mike Pompeo (R-KS) is circulating a revised federal draft bill, HR 1599, deceptively titled “The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act.” Consumers, farmers, and food activists have dubbed HR 1599 the DARK Act for “Denying Americans the Right to Know.” This bill would simultaneously prevent mandatory federal labeling and deny states the right to enact their own labeling legislation, including the right to regulate GE crops.

The DARK Act reads like a “Monsanto Protection Act,” a wish list for Big Biotech. We need to take action now to save mandatory GMO labeling and states’ rights to regulate GMOs. Please take action now to stop HR 1599 by contacting your U.S. legislators — for quick access, go to marighttoknow.com/home/StopDARK.

If passed, the DARK Act would: Block all state laws requiring mandatory GMO labeling, including a Vermont GMO labeling law set to go into effect in July 2016;  Effectively block the FDA from creating a national mandatory GMO labeling system; Block all non-GMO claims until USDA creates a non-GMO certification program; Block all state and local efforts to protect farmers and rural residents from the economic and environmental impacts of GMO crops, including pesticide drift; Prevent food companies from suggesting that non-GMO products are better than GMO products.

To support mandatory GMO labeling, ask your federal legislators to support the Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act, introduced by Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR). You can go to centerforfoodsafety.org/press-releases to learn more, and follow the link to “Tell Congress to Support the New Federal Labeling Bill!”

Marilyn Miller

Oak Bluffs