A new bill would block efforts to mandate the labeling of
genetically engineered foods.
In 79 A.D., a
volcanic eruption buried Pompeii in ash. Nearly 2,000 years later, an eruption
of hot legislative ash is spewing from Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) is threatening
U.S. consumers.
Pompeo is the
right-wing Congress critter from the Ideological Republic of Kochistan. A
businessman firmly woven into the Koch Industries
fold, this Republican from Wichita, Kansas, became the billionaire
brothers’ personal congressman in 2010, when their money squeegeed him into a
House seat.
A former Koch Industries lawyer was dispatched to run his office,
and the Kansas Republican dutifully mouths the company line in Washington.
He became the
lead sponsor of an industry-written bill that meets both the ideological and
profiteering goals of Koch Industries, Monsanto, and the Grocery Manufacturers
Association (the lobbying front for Big Food). That bill would make it easier
for brand-name food giants to continue deceiving consumers about the use of
genetically modified organisms in their food products.
More than 90
percent of consumers want food manufacturers to label any
products containing those risky GMOs so they can decide for themselves whether
to buy reengineered foods. Some 23 states are now considering laws to require these
right-to-know labels.
So here comes
Pompeo, spewing ash and noxious gas, not only to keep families in the dark
about what they’re eating, but also to snuff out their political rights.
His bill bars
states from enforcing their own labeling laws and says any
federal labeling provision must be “voluntary.” Also, it usurps the scientific
process to declare by legislative fiat that these altered foods are “safe” and
can even be labeled as “natural.”
To keep up with
Pompeo’s toxic eruptions, visit the Center for Food Safety’s website.
OtherWords columnist Jim Hightower is
a radio commentator, writer, and public speaker. He’s also editor of the
populist newsletter, The Hightower
Lowdown. OtherWords.org