Last week I reported that the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act was passed by the House Agriculture Committee. I have it on good authority that the Act will be voted upon this week in the U.S. House of Representatives! That means we need YOUR help getting it passed!
Here’s how you can help:
Write Your Congressman: The best way to get your message across is in writing! Thankfully, websites have been set up to make it easier for you. To send your Congressman a letter explaining your support for the Act and urging him or her to also support it, check out the following links (and forms!): American Farm Bureau Federation or Coalition for Safe & Affordable Food.
Call Your Congressman: The U.S. Capitol switchboard can be easily reached by calling 202-224-3121. Once on the phone, ask the operator to connect you to your Congressman’s office. Once you get a staff member on the line, be sure to tell them that you support the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015 and urge your Congressman to do so as well!
Show Support on Social Media: Once you’ve utilized one of the above ways to contact your Congressman, why not proudly show your support on your Facebook or Twitter accounts? The Team Ag Pinterest board is filled with memes that you can share with your family and friends. Better yet – find your Congressman on Facebook and Twitter and post on his or her wall expressing your support for the legislation and asking him or her to vote in favor of it!
Not sure what to say? Brush up on your talking points by re-reading some of my favorite posts on this topic: Bad Ideas: GMO Labels, USDA Creates a GMO Label- Here’s What You Need to Know, Giving the FDA Control Over Labeling, and (of course) Safe and Affordable Labeling Act Out of Committee.
A friend, who works on the Hill for a Congressman, gave me the following tips to pass along to anyone contacting their Representatives: be polite, precise, and quick! If you want to send just an email (and not use one of the forms linked above), you can find your Representative’s email address on their website (hint: throw their name into Google!). There is no companion Senate bill, so right now there is no need to call your Senators.
PS: If you like doing this type of thing and want to know about other ways you can take action and participate, how about signing up for Team Ag?
Here is a blog that keeps track of the upcoming votes. If you subscribe you can get a weekly e-mail. https://www.popvox.com/blog/week-ahead-july-20-24?utm_campaign=website&utm_source=sendgrid.com&utm_medium=email
That’s very helpful! Thanks!
I am so angry! If you wish to buy GMOs, that’s your business. Heck, buy cigarettes, drugs, booze, *I don’t care* ! But how *dare* you decide that others don’t have the right to know what we are buying, putting into our bodies or feeding our families? Consumers have the right to make informed decisions.
If you really cared about knowing what was in your food, then you wouldn’t be supporting a generalized label that says “Contains GMOs.” Such a label tells you absolutely nothing. That doesn’t make you any more informed than you were before. The campaign for GMO labeling has nothing to do with information and everything to do with spreading misinformation and, ultimately, trying to ban the technology.