The DARK Act Passed - Now What?
First, the good news for Jackson County - attorneys at Center for Food Safety have just advised us that upon completion of their legal analysis they believe the DARK Act will NOT impact the Jackson County ordinance that banned the growing of GMO crops in the county!
Regardless, we will not let corrupt corporations get their way. Rest assured that many are working tirelessly to fight the GMO (non) labeling bill that was signed by President Obama on July 29, and striving to implement true transparency in our food system. This show is not over.
If you've been following the issue, you might be interested in reading Center For Food Safety's comment published after the passing of the DARK Act.
Until the DARK Act is overturned, our mandate is to vote three times a day, every day, for the food we want to eat. Here are Best Practices for your daily food choices:
First choice - Grow your own, or buy food grown and/or processed by a local farmer you know and trust. Talk to them about their growing practices to make sure they meet your values.
Second option- Buy items with the Organic and/or Non-GMO labels for foods containing crops that are commonly grown as GMO: corn, soy, sugar, alfalfa, papaya and cotton.
Third option - Buy Organic when buying processed products. Keep in mind there are varying degrees of "organic." Some packages infer the product is organic even though not all ingredients are - read labels carefully.
Fourth Option - Buy food items with the Non-GMO label. However, if you don't know the grower or food producer, there is a good chance the crop has been sprayed with the glyphosate herbicide (this is done to "desiccate" the crop so it can all be harvested at the same time).
Please note: At the 11th hour, a provision was added to the DARK Act allowing all food labeled as Organic to carry the “non-GMO” label without any testing to confirm the product has no GMO contamination, as can happen with some organic products. So while non-organic companies will have to undergo testing and verification by third-parties like the Non-GMO Project to ensure that their product does not have significant GMO content, that is now not true for certified organic foods. However, numerous groups, including Center For Food Safety, are committed to fighting the DARK Act in federal court. No bill that is this blatantly discriminatory and unconstitutional should be allowed to stand. So the fight against the DARK Act, and for local democracy and the right to know for all Americans, continues.
