Organic Consumers Association-big issues in this weeks newsletter

[confludemocrat]

CONGRESS BLINDFOLDS CONSUMERS- REMOVING RIGHT TO KNOW WHAT'S IN YOUR FOOD
On March 8, despite massive public opposition, including 50,000 calls and letters from supporters of the Organic Consumers Association, the House of Representatives passed the controversial "national food uniformity" labeling law, which would eliminate over 200 state food safety labeling laws. The law basically takes away local government and states' power to require food safety labels such as those required in California and other states on foods or beverages that are likely to cause cancer, birth defects, allergic reactions, or mercury poisoning. The bill would also prevent local municipalities and states from passing laws requiring that genetically engineered foods and ingredients be labeled. Under the bill, hundreds of state laws and regulations would be eliminated, including those relating to the safety of milk, fish, and shellfish. In order to become law, the bill will now have to go to the Senate for a vote. Because of the enormous public backlash against the bill, Washington analysts believe the bill will have great difficulty passing in the Senate. OCA and other public interest organizations have vowed to go "all out" to stop this anti-democratic, anti-consumer bill in the Senate. Take action here: http://www.organicconsumers.org/rd/labeling.cfm

Plus: for OCA forum members a poll on whether to boycott of organic brands that have been lobbying to have organic standards weakened here: http://www.organicconsumers.org/chat/viewtopic.php?t=587.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/organicbytes.htm

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Thank you for posting this.

[phantom power]

2. I wonder if this is yet another instance...

of the House GOP throwing some red meat to their constituents, while expecting the Senate to kill the bill for them. Although it's hard for me to imagine which voter constituency would be anti-labeling. Come to think of it, I wonder if they play the same game with their big-money contributors. Introduce bills to please their sugar-daddies, and rely on the Senate to kill them so the hoi polloi don't get up in arms. Or the reverse, for Senators.

Props to the founding fathers, but the bicameral legislative branch was a blunder.

[Mist]

3. I don't think there's a voter constituency that's anti-labeling, but

giant agri-business and giant food combines are certainly against the labeling! This (Repub) gov't can't do enough for the big corps.

[wordpix2]

4. "This (Repub) gov't can't do enough for the big corps"ain't that the truth