NFU/200 Organizations Promote M-COOL

[Oldtimer]

NFU to Congress: Implement COOL



Source: NFU



WASHINGTON (Feb. 28, 2007) – National Farmers Union (NFU), along with more than 200 organizations representing a broad cross-section of groups including consumers, urged members of Congress to support mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL). This is the largest coalition letter ever sent on COOL.



In a letter to Congressional leadership and the Chairmen and Ranking members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, the groups asked that the implementation date be changed to September 2007.



“Producers deserve the right to differentiate their products as Made in the U.S.A.,” NFU President Tom Buis said. “And consumers deserve the right to know where their food comes from. Country-of-origin labeling is a win-win for both groups.”



A COOL provision requiring retailers to notify consumers of the country-of-origin of beef, pork, lamb, produce, peanuts and seafood was included in the 2002 Farm Bill. Yet through a series of back room deals, riders have been added to “must pass legislation” that prohibited the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from actually implementing the law, with the exception of seafood. The current COOL implementation date is September 2008.



“We represent millions of Americans that continue to stand united in support of this valuable program,” the groups said. “Consumers and producers have grown impatient with the backdoor delays and the rhetoric of packers, processors and retailers that flies in the face of common sense.”



Consumer surveys have consistently shown overwhelming public support for mandatory COOL and the implementation of mandatory COOL on farm-raised and wild-caught seafood has proven successful and popular.



nfu.org

 

[Oldtimer]

CattleNetwork_Today 3/1/2007 9:27:00 AM


R-CALF: USDA Can Implement COOL with 7 Simple Steps

Billings, Mont. – Today, a joint letter that reactivates the Americans for Country of Origin Labeling (ACOL) coalition was sent to the leadership of both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives to request that Mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) be implemented by September 2007 and to encourage Congress to affirm its support of implementing COOL since this law has been on the books since the passage of the 2002 Farm Bill.



The letter – signed by 213 organizations, including R-CALF USA and 25 of its Affiliates – represents millions of U.S. producers and U.S. consumers.


ACOL is asking Congress to pass Senate Bill 404, bipartisan legislation introduced by Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., which would change the implementation date for COOL to Sept. 30, 2007. This bill is co-sponsored by: Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.; Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa; Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont.; Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M.; Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D.; Sen. Michael Enzi, R-Wyo.; and, Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D.



ACOL also asks Congress to pass H.R. 357, introduced by Rep. Dennis Rehberg, R-Mont., that also would change the COOL implementation date to Sept. 30, 2007. Co-sponsors of this bill include Rep. Stephanie Herseth, D-S.D., and Rep. Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo.



“…opponents of mandatory COOL are trying to convince Congress that a change in statute is needed in order to reduce the expense and burden of the program,” the letter states in part. “We do not support changing a statute that has not been given a chance to prove itself. USDA implemented mandatory COOL on farm-raised and wild-caught seafood effective April 4, 2005 with the existing statute; the experience gained from seafood implementation should be utilized by USDA to write a final rule on the remaining covered commodities that is not burdensome or expensive and meets the goal and intent of Congress.”



R-CALF USA has filed comments with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) this week that provide steps the agency can take to immediately implement Mandatory COOL immediately.



“R-CALF is recommending seven specific improvements USDA can use to simplify the implementation of COOL rules for beef, based on some of the agency’s own actions when, in 2005, it implemented COOL rules for fish and seafood,” said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard.



USDA can immediately implement COOL for beef by:



— Allowing packers to indicate beef has come from imported animals without having to specify each further production step that may have occurred in the United States.;

— Allowing packers to label blended products with a list of the countries of origin that may be contained in the product, rather than a definitive list of each country;

— Allowing retailers to rely on pre-labeled products for origin claims;

— Allowing meat packers to rely on country markings that already are applied to cattle imports in order to determine origin;

— Eliminating unnecessary and duplicative record-keeping requirements regarding chain of custody and separate tracking during the production process to allow packers and retailers to rely on documents they already keep in the ordinary course of business;

— Reducing the record retention requirement from two years to one year; and

— Specifying that producers and retailers do not need to demand affidavits or third party verification audits of suppliers in order to adequately substantiate origin claims.



During an afternoon conference call, Thomas told participants he was very proud to have been a sponsor of this “very reasonable” bill and that he was optimistic it would pass.



“There’s just no reason why, when a consumer purchases their meat just like they purchase a T-shirt, you have a right to know where it comes from,” Thomas said. “As we have more and more foreign trade – and there’s going to be more foreign trade as time goes on – I think it makes it even more important and more of an opportunity for people to choose.”



Baucus told participants that consumers want to know where their food is coming from.



“COOL is not so expensive that it can’t be included – even under budget resolutions that we’ll be passing in Congress later this year, bottom line, it’s just not that expensive,” Baucus said during a conference call this afternoon. “The big thing is to get this legislation passed so it’s implemented, that’s the goal here. USDA has been dragging its feet. The goal is to get it implemented sooner rather than later.”



Note: To contact appropriate Senators or Representatives, call 202-224-3121 and ask for them by name. To view the ACOL letter, as well as R-CALF USA’s comments, please visit the “Country-of-Origin Labeling” link at http://www.r-calfusa.com

 

[skcatlman]

OT you want the consumer to know where beef comes from like a t shirt has a label. Explain this to me. The T-shirt is made in Tiawan for example. Does the label say the cotton for this shirt comes from the US so it is a product of the USA. No the labal says product of tiawan. Or if it is a polyester t-shirt the label doesn't say the oil used to make the polyester for the fabric for this t-shirt comes from whereever. So this is the problem seen with COOL. yes animals from canada are product of canada but if processed in the US, is the beef not a product of the US . Does this not make sense? I have no problem if a label reads canadian beef -processed and packaged in the USA , USDA inspected and graded. Not crap like this beef may contain beef from somewhere else. I see the COOL as proposed as a way for the US producer to mix substandard US beef with imported beef and pass off the poor quality as imported beef. just another way to lie to the US consumer.

 

[Oldtimer]

Admit it skskatoon-- You know Canadian beef has lost all its identity with the Canadian cattle industries selling their souls to the US multinational Packers-- and you're just afraid that no one will buy it anymore.....

You'd rather use fraud and deceit and have it labeled with the USDA label so it could be passed off as US beef so its saleable and you can stick more scheckels in your pocket... Pretty Sad what Canadian cattlemen are allowing themselves to become...

 

[skcatlman]

OT despite what you think, times have changes and we are in an global economy why do you think the asian stock market crash a few days ago affected the NYSE and TSE so much. Sooner or later you are going to have to accet it or perish. According to your chief economist the cost of building houses and industrial buildings is leading the USA into a recession. Too bad there is no lower cost building suppies avalible from a close maket to prevent this. Oh wait canada can supply this lumber but US companies lobbied and got their way to protect the market from imports by tarrifs. Kinda sounds like what r-calf is doing with the beef trade.
I realize that we are in a global economy , To be completely honest i have no control of what the processing companies do after they buy my cattle. Or what the USDA does regaurding rules of labeling. So do you realize the multinationals control both our beef industries and that the north american beef trade was fully intergrated prior to BSE and will be so again soon. I am invloved in a producer owned packer and we are shipping processed beef UTM to calfiornia to the elite restaurants which is hormone/implant free and antibiotic free. We are shipping it and getting a premium for it. So from that i believe the US consumer thinks Canadian beef is a superior product. If you guys thought about it you could of had that market but you keep the low return supermarket trade.

 

[Oldtimer]

You can have the cheapest lumber in the world and it doesn't help if folks aren't being paid a high enough wage and/or earning enough income to pay to build/buy a house...Globalist trade initiated service sector jobs wages are not ones that contibute to increased housing starts....

You support the global trade because your country has pretty well sold out- at whatever cost...

Ours still has a little sovereignty left-- For that reason I will fight for programs that will help us keep our rural farms/ranches viable, rural communities ,and rural lifestyles available for my kids and grandkids...Might be a losing battle but at least in this state- you can still pack a sixgun wherever you want, guys can't marry other guys, and smoking dope is still a crime...So I hope you can see why I'm not in as big a hurry as you to throw in the towel to the globalist/socialist way of life....