Minorities, poor, elderly will be least likely to learn of hidden GMO ingredients.
The proposal to hide the labeling of GMO ingredients behind a scannable QR code ─ as proposed by the Grocery Manufacturers Association and filed in a rush as a Senate bill by its mouthpiece Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) ─ is at its heart disingenuous, elitist, and discriminates against the poor and elderly.
These groups are immensely less likely to own expensive smartphones and pay for costly internet data plans. Just 27% of Americans 65 and older own a smartphone, and only half of people earning $30,000 or less own one. In lower-income groups owning these devices a one-fourth drop or lose their data plan due to cost. (Pew Research).
Even the top-selling smartphone, the iPhone, cannot read this code without an additional software download. An internet data plan is required. The time and trouble to scan each and every grocery item while shopping would be much greater than a glance at a label as is now done with other ingredients consumers take issue with such as salt, carbs, MSG, various artificial ingredients, etc.
One has to wonder if the 79-year-old Roberts, long an advocate of most anything Big Ag and Big Food proposes, has ever tried to scan a QR code himself.
Senator Roberts’ bill is disingenuous, elitist, and discriminates against the poor and elderly.
And the very logic used by the food industry to oppose GMO labeling ─ that changing of packaging will drive up food prices ─ is an even bigger issue when instead of adding a few small words an entire graphic element must be printed.
The real story is that this action is not only designed to kill the labeling of GMOs, but will provide the food industry with a convenient place to bury any future unsavory ingredients as well. For good. And that’s why the big-money backers of GMOs and junk food are doubling down on pushing this bad bill through the Senate.
Read this excellent summary about the Denial of the Right to Know act (DARK), from Civil Eats: http://civileats.com/2015/07/20/5-things-to-know-about-the-dark-act/
To learn about the industry-sponsored study claiming food costs will rise with labeling (even though that is what the same groups now propose), read this article from Organic Consumers: https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/cost-labeling-genetically-engineered-food-will-be-minimal