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Proposed S. 2609 by Roberts & Stabenow: Voluntary labeling discriminates against anyone  on the wrong side of the Digital Divide Moderator’s Note:  I want to make it clear: This is an Environmental Justice and Social Justice issue.  The Senate is considering passage of the latest version of the notorious DARK (Deny a Right to Know) Act, a.k.a. S. 2609 and found here . This legislation is NOT a mandatory labeling law nor is it designed to work in an equitable manner. For example, the proposed legislation exploits the “Digital Divide” by using a system in which consumers must scan a “QR Code” (like that pictured directly above) on the product with a smartphone or similar device. The scan will then allow the consumer to visit a website with whatever misleading information is found in the self-regulating corporate digital ether. Only 68 percent of Americans own smartphones and this is the Digital Divide we need to emphasize in our statements of opposition ( Center for Foo...

Moderator’s Note: Both Oregon and Colorado are voting on citizen-initiated referendums that would require the labeling of GMO foods. Colorado’s electorate is voting on Prop 105, which I endorsed and addressed in an October 10 editorial. Oregon voters are deciding the outcome with a vote on Measure 92 . Both laws are reasonable and sensible first stepa toward insuring the right to know and the ability for consumers to make educated choices about the foods they eat.  Numerous editorials have come out in support of Oregon’s Measure 92 but Eecole Copen of Portland, Oregon, a registered dietician, has written the most compelling of these missives. Copen emphasizes the need for us to “look at the bigger picture” and this includes clearly addressing concerns about the effectiveness of the proposed law and the opponents’ unsubstantiated claims that labeling will increase the cost of food. Copen also provides an insightful analysis of the strategies being used by biotechnology corporation...

Corn Mother. Cristina M. Perez Yes on Colorado Prop 105 AN ACEQUIA FARMER EXPLAINS SUPPORT FOR LABELING Devon G. Peña | Las Colonias de San Pablo, CO and Seattle, WA | October 10, 2014 I am a farmer in Colorado’s San Luis Valley and I support Prop 105, our state’s citizen-initiated referendum for the labeling of genetically engineered (GE) foods; also known as GMOs for genetically modified organisms. In a democracy, citizens must have access to information in order to make decisions affecting their quality of life. The right to know is a basic right in a true democracy. By logical and legal extension of this basic principle we have a right to know what is in the food we eat and how it is produced. The right to know about our food is already codified in the law in the form of required nutritional labels and other information used by consumers to make decisions, for e.g., about dietary restrictions involving consumption of sodium, fats, and sugar or carbohydrates. Indeed, the sale price ...