H.R. 1599: Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015 Passed in the House

The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act will ensure that food labeling in the United States is consistent across state lines and based on sound science.  The bill increases coordination between the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), giving our nation’s foremost experts on food and agricultural safety the final authority on food labeling policy.  The legislation also establishes a transparent, consistent GMO-free certification program, bringing clarity to those who choose to purchase GMO-free foods.

Introduced by Congressmen Mike Pompeo and G.K. Butterfield, the bill currently has 69 cosponsors along with public support from more than 400 organizations in all 50 states that represent every step of the American food supply chain—from farmers to food manufacturers.

Arizona Representatives Ann Kirkpatick (D-AZ-1 ), Paul Gosar (R-AZ-4), David Schweikert (R-AZ-6) and Trent Franks (R-AZ-8)  co-sponsored of H.R.1599.

“A well-designed, uniform and national effort to fully inform you about how your food is produced is better and cheaper than a state-by-state patchwork. All costs will be transferred to you, the consumer. The biggest losers of all will be our most vulnerable — those 15.9 million children in the 14.5 percent of U.S. households that battle food insecurity daily” shared Shane C. Burgess, vice provost and dean of the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and director of the Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station in a 2014 Op Ed in the Arizona Republic titled GMO Food is Safe Labeled or Not. “Our political and educational systems encourage critical thinking and debate. They allow us to make best use of the “wisdom of crowds. No matter what you hear or read, please be skeptical and be open. Check the facts. Opinion is not a surrogate for science.”

Arizona’s Delegation: How They Voted

(Source: GovTrack)