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In 79 AD, Pompeii was buried in ash by a volcanic eruption. Now, nearly 2000 years later, an eruption of hot legislative ash is spewing from Rep. Mike Pompeo, threatening to gag consumers with gas and ash.
Pompeo is the right-wing congress critter from the Ideological Republic of Kochistan. A longtime employee and lackey of the Koch brothers, this Republican from Wichita, Kansas, became the billionaire brothers’ personal congressman in 2010, when Koch money squeegeed him into a House seat. A Koch Industries lawyer was even dispatched to run his office, and Mike dutifully mouths the company line in Washington.
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But in early April, with pressure building up within him to do a major favor for his patrons, Mount Pompeo blew. 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 of America (the lobbying front for Big Food). Their bill would let brand-name food giants continue deceiving consumers about the use of genetically altered 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 26 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 bans any state from passing 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, go to www.CenterForFoodSaftey.org.
“Rep. Pompeo to Introduce Koch-funded, Monsanto-Backed, Voluntary GMO Food Labeling Bill,” www.ecowatch.com, April 4, 2014.
“Don’t Let the Big Food Lobby Block State Labeling,” www.centerforfoodsafety.org, April 2014.
“Leaked Document Reveals Big Food Lobby’s Plans to Preempt State GMO Labeling,” www.centerforfoodsafety.org, January 7, 2014.
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“OCA Calls on Consumers to Persuade Rep. Pompeo to Abandon Plans to Support Industry Bill that Would Preempt GMO Labeling Laws,” April 1, 2014.
“Koch Industries and Monsanto Team up to End Your Right to Know,” www.www.centerforfoodsafety.org, April 3, 2014.