Organic food interest groups will be out in force to protest a Wednesday committee hearing on food labels.
The House Subcommittee on Health will hold a hearing on the safety of genetically modified food ingredients (GMOs), as well as bipartisan legislation that would solidify the FDA’s role as the arbiter of food labeling. The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2014 was drafted by Rep. Mike Pompeo (R., Kan.) and G.K. Butterfield (D., NC) in reaction to several state and local proposals that require products made with GMOs to disclose the presence of the man-made ingredients.
The hearing will focus on current Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority over foods from genetically engineered plants and what the agency has learned about the safety of such products. Further, it will provide an opportunity to engage with scientific experts about the role bioengineering plays in our nation’s food supply and economy as well as to hear from stakeholders that could be affected by State-specific regulations of product labeling.
Organic food interest groups are rallying against the legislation.
Anti-GMO food labeling would provide a boon to the growing organic food market. Those companies have poured millions into the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), which is leading the Capitol Hill protests on Wednesday. The group offers complimentary bus rides and "free organic lunch" to supporters who turn out against the legislation, which they have dubbed the DARK Act.
"The DARK (Deny Americans the Right to Know) ACT—was introduced by Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) at the bidding of Monsanto, Big Food, and the Koch Brothers," the group said. "If we don’t turn out in numbers to protest this bill, our voice could be silenced."
OCA did not return a request for comment.
The protest is also being sponsored by alternative medicine giant mercola.com, which offers suspect medical advice from Dr. Joseph Mercola. The FDA has warned Mercola to stop issuing "unfounded claims" as he peddles his holistic medicine.
Other doctors have criticized Mercola for putting people at risk. Johns Hopkins Medical School Prof. Steven Salzberg called Mercola "the 21st-century equivalent of a snake-oil salesman" in a 2012 Chicago Magazine article.
"The information he’s putting out to the public is extremely misleading and potentially very dangerous," Dr. Stephen Barrett, who runs the medical watchdog site Quackwatch.org, told the magazine. "He exaggerates the risks and potential dangers of legitimate science-based medical care, and he promotes a lot of unsubstantiated ideas and sells [certain] products with claims that are misleading."
Mercola did not respond to a request for comment.
The Environmental Working Group has also helped foster discontent over the legislation.
"This is about transparency, not technology," EWG vice president of government affairs Scott Faber said in a release. "Consumers simply want to know what’s in their food and how it’s grown—just like consumers in 64 other countries."
Faber, who is scheduled to testify at the subcommittee meeting, has flip-flopped on food labeling since joining EWG. He spoke out against food labeling legislation as a representative of the Grocery Manufacturers Association in 2008. He blasted a proposal to force manufacturers to disclose their food’s nation of origin, saying that it would drive up food prices.
"At a time when thousands of Americans are being forced out of their homes and losing their job, it makes little sense for congress to arbitrarily increase the price of food," Faber told the House Energy Committee at the time.
EWG did not respond to request for comment.
Pompeo said that GMOs have been vindicated by science as safe. The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act is intended to ensure uniformity, so consumers do not receive mixed messages about their food.
"Countless scientific studies have affirmed the safety of GMOs. This legislation is a science-based solution that will give the FDA the authority over the safety of, and labeling of, genetically engineered crops and GMOs," Pompeo said in a statement. "It also preserves the right of companies to truthfully label their products as GMO-free or organic."
The protests are scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. on Wednesday. The subcommittee will meet at 10:15 a.m.