Why do you think that the majority of our senators voted AGAINST labeling GMOs in our food supply?

Because theyre campaigns are funded by MONSANTO!

Transparency in the labeling of genetically modified (GMO) food experienced a setback in the Senate yesterday. An amendment to the Farm Bill, Introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and co-sponsored by Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Mark Begich (D-AK), which would have clarified that individual states have the right to require food labels to indicate the presence of GMO's, was defeated by a vote of 26-73. Forty-nine countries around the world do require open GMO labeling; however, the issue has had its struggles in the United States. A growing number of American consumers and organizations studying human and environmental health, have expressed concern about the longterm effects of producing and consuming GMO foods; in response, in the past year, 36 bills in 19 states have been introduced at the state level. In California, voters will have an opportunity to voice their opinion in an initiative appearing on this November's ballot. In Senator Sanders' home state of Vermont, when a bill requiring GMO labeling, which had support of its House Agricultural Committee was being considered, Monsanto, a major player in the GMO industry, threatened to sue the state, resulting in stalling action on the issue. While most Republicans voted against the measure, 28 Democrats were also among those who helped to defeat the amendment. Senators representing states which have attempted to address this issue with local legislation were split. In addition to California, nine of those states, Alaska, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia, voted in support of open GMO labeling. States whose votes did not appear to reflect the sentiments of their constituents include: Iowa, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina and Tennessee. Votes were split in Massachusetts and New Jersey. In Illinois, one senator voted against the amendment and one did not vote. Senator Sanders' amendment did not ban GMO foods; it simply required that they be identified along with over 3,000 other ingredients manufacturers are currently required to declare, and be reported to the Food and Drug Administration. It had the support of numerous organizations, including: Center for Food Safety; Union of Concerned Scientists; National Farmers Union; Environmental Working Group; American Public Health Association; National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition; Public Citizen; U.S. PIRG; New England Farmers Union; Environment America; National Cooperative Grocers Association; Friends of the Earth; and the Sierra Club. If you would like to express your opinion about this vote, contact information for California Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, as well as all other states, can be found on the official United States Senate website. If the issue of open GMO labeling is important to you, remember that your vote counts! Know how your candidates feel, on both a local and national level, and vote accordingly. Details of the roll call vote on the Sanders Amendment to the Farm Bill are located at this link.

Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein teamed up to make California one of ten states supporting open GMO labeling in yesterday's Senate vote Photo credit: Justin Sullivan

Rand Paul Votes NO on GMO Labeling

Farm Wars Friday, June 22, 2012 Thought that endorsing Romney was bad enough? In another turn of events that exposes the corporatist leanings of Rand Paul, Senator from Kentucky, he has voted NO on a GMO labeling amendment to the farm bill to permit States to require that any food, beverage, or other edible product offered for sale have a label on indicating that the food, beverage, or other edible product contains a genetically engineered ingredient. The following is taken from the United States Senate Website.