Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. Chairman, I am rising today in strong opposition to H.R. 1599, which actually stands in direct contradiction to the wishes of almost 90 percent of Americans across the country. It is no wonder that this legislation has more commonly become known to people who are very concerned about this issue as the DARK Act, or the Deny Americans the Right to Know Act. And that is really what is at issue here.

This legislation makes a mockery of transparency and leaves U.S. consumers in the dark. What are they so afraid of? Why deprive Americans of the ability to make educated choices about whether they want food with genetically modified ingredients? Why make the labeling of such food just voluntary? Why not require it as you require basic nutrition information on processed foods now? Why not join the 64 other countries, including the EU, Japan, Australia, Brazil, and China, in empowering our constituents with information, making mandatory labeling?

My State of Hawaii is the number one State for experimental genetically engineered plant field trials, according to the USDA. Many of my constituents are very concerned about GE crop field testing because of the lack of information about these trials and the pesticides that are being applied to the fields.

On the island of Kauai, in my district, residents organized and passed an ordinance requiring large agrochemical companies to disclose the pesticides they are spraying and observe buffer zones around schools, homes, and hospitals to prevent chemical spray drifts.

The DARK Act could overrule the rights of these local communities to make such decisions to protect their health and safety and guide the growth of their agricultural industries.

This legislation could overturn a ban on the cultivation of genetically engineered coffee passed by Hawaii Island constituents, potentially damaging the global reputation of Hawaii's famous and unique Kona coffee, the only domestic coffee industry in our country. It could negate a ban on the cultivation of genetically engineered taro, endangering a main staple and culturally significant plant for indigenous Native Hawaiians.

This is why I am calling on my colleagues to adopt the Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know-Act. I urge my colleagues today to vote against the DARK Act and support commonsense labeling as we move forward.

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