[HCCN] Collins, King test-voted to push DARK Act thru with no debate

[Dick Atlee]

 From the Organic Consumers Assn:

(Note -- it takes less than a minute:
  King (202-224-5344):    Marge Kilkelly
  Collins (202-224-2523): Jill Carney)

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MAINE: URGENT! Call Your Senators TODAY!

Dear Dick,

Yesterday, the U.S. Senate held a “test vote” on the DARK Act, and your 
Senators—Sen. Susan Collins and Sen. Angus King—voted in favor of pushing 
this bill through with no debate.

I live in Maine—and I will not be happy if my Senators vote against the 
interests of 97 percent of their constituents, including you, who according 
to polls support mandatory GMO labeling laws.

TAKE ACTION: Please call (888-897-0174) Sens. Collins and King TODAY! Tell 
them to support Maine and Vermont’s mandatory GMO labeling laws and vote 
against the DARK Act next week!

It's critical that your senators hear from you today. Calls are the 
fastest, most-effective way to get your message through to Congress.

1.    Call 888-897-0174 to be connected to one of your senator's offices. 
You will hear a short message, and then you will be transferred to one of 
your senator's D.C. offices.

2.    When a staffer answers, tell them your name, where you're from, and say:
"I'm a constituent and I care about my right to know what's in the food I 
eat. I want my senator to vote NO on the 'compromise' version of Senator 
Roberts' Bill 2609 and any other legislation that results in anything less 
than mandatory on-package labeling for GMO foods. The current version of 
this bill allows QR codes and telephones to replace words on a label—I 
don’t want to have to wrangle with technology in order to find out what’s 
in my food. This bill is NOT mandatory—there is no mechanism for 
enforcement and no penalties for non-compliance. And even the FDA says the 
bill sets the bar so high that the most common GMO ingredients won’t ever 
have to be labeled."

3.    If you call again, you will automatically be routed to your second 
senator. If the office is closed or the voicemail box is full, please be 
persistent and keep trying or call again tomorrow. Thank you for making the 
call!

This latest version of the DARK Act, introduced by Sen. Pat Roberts 
(R-Kan.) and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) is a direct attack on 
consumers’ rights to know, and on Maine’s right to enact a GMO labeling law.

If it passes, the bill will overturn Vermont’s mandatory GMO labeling law, 
set to take effect July 1—and it will keep Mainers from ever having GMO 
labeling here.

The Roberts-Stabenow DARK Act calls for a convoluted, costly, 
discriminatory scheme of barcodes and phone numbers—but no labels.

This bill is not a mandatory labeling law—because there’s no enforcement 
mechanism, and no penalties or consequences of any kind for defying the “law.”

Even the FDA, not known for siding with consumers, confirmed yesterday that 
this latest version of the DARK Act is so full of loopholes and exemptions 
that only the barest minimum of products would meet the standard.

Our Senators should represent us—not Monsanto.

Please call your Senators today and tell them they have an obligation to 
protect you, not Big Ag and Big Food. Call 888-897-0174 today!

Thank you!

Katherine, for the OCA team