Activists call on Bill Nelson to oppose GMO labeling bill

They call it the DARK act, and they want Bill Nelson to oppose it.

On Tuesday, a coalition of activists, led by the group March Against Monsanto, met in front of the Florida senator’s Tampa District office and called on him to oppose a compromise bill in the Senate proposed by Kansas Republican Pat Roberts and Michigan Democrat Debbie Stabenow that would create a federal standard on disclosing genetically modified organisms — aka GMOs.

Critics call the proposal the DARK Act, which stands for Deny Americans the Right to Know act.

Leaders from environmental and public health groups delivered a letter signed by close to 70 organizations to Sen. Nelson today asking that he vote against the controversial bill when it comes up for vote, perhaps as early as Wednesday.

“Since this deeply flawed bill allows companies to use QR codes on their packages instead of on-package labels, consumers will now need smartphones and a good cellphone signal to then navigate a maze of information online while they shop,” said Jorge Aguilar, the Southern Region Director for Food & Water Watch. “Worst yet, the bill has no teeth since weak enforcement criteria do not include penalties for violations.”

Last Friday in Vermont, the country’s first GMO labeling law went into effect, but it may not stay a law for long. The Roberts/Stabenow bill would nullify Vermont’s law. The bill would also delay implementation of new federal GMO labeling rules for two years. The federal bill does not designate fines for violations. It offers several options for on-package designation of GMOs, including words, a symbol developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture or a smartphone scan code, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Supporters of the Dark Act have been referring to Senate Bill 764 as a “compromise” bill that fixes a previous bill voted down on the Senate floor in March.

FloridaPolitics.com contacted Sen. Nelson’s office for comment, but they have not called back at this time. Nelson voted for the Roberts/Stabenow bill when it came before the Senate back in the spring.

If the new bill passes the Senate, it must still pass the House, which earlier voted for a bill that places a national ban on on-package GMO disclosure.