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R-CALF: Producers Thank Bipartisan Group Of Senators For Support Of COOL
Washington, D.C. â€" R-CALF USA members want to express their sincere gratitude to a bipartisan group of more than 30 U.S. Senators who, on Sept. 25, wrote to Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee, to urge him to include companion language within his chairman’s mark of the Farm Bill that would reflect the compromise on country-of-origin labeling (COOL) that was reached in July by the U.S. House of Representatives in its version of the Farm Bill. This effort was led by Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., and Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., longtime supporters of COOL.
The Senators’ letter states in part: “Because of USDA’s inability over the past five years to create a workable and common-sense rule, now is the time for congressional intervention to ensure the long-awaited implementation of mandatory COOL…Numerous consumer polls have consistently shown widespread support for COOL…just further verifications of information we have known for years; consumers want to know where their food comes from…â€
“It is so refreshing to see these Senators truly listen to the wishes of their constituents instead of bowing to the powerful influence of the multinational meat packers,†said R-CALF USA COOL Committee Chair Mike Schultz. “We know the packers and processors will still try to kill COOL, but let me remind them that COOL is no more burdensome than what they already do by specifying ownership of the cattle on the checks they write.
“Just this week, Philip H. Kimball, executive director of the North American Meat Processors, stated in an article that COOL is ‘not appropriate,’†Schultz pointed out. “What Kimball really means is that COOL won’t be as profitable as keeping consumers in the dark about where their beef comes from. With all the recent food safety scares here in the U.S., it’s just common sense to give consumers the information they have the right to know.â€
Additional signers of the letter include: Sen. Byron L. Dorgan, D-N.D.; Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa; Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.; Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo.; Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.; Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.; Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.; Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M.; Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis.; Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.; Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo.; Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont.; Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass.; Sen. Robert P. Casey, Jr., D-Pa.; Sen. Joseph R. Biden, Jr., D-Del.; Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.; Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.; Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.; Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.; Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.; Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.; Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Ark.; Sen. Jeff Sessions, R- Ala.; Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D.
Washington, D.C. â€" R-CALF USA members want to express their sincere gratitude to a bipartisan group of more than 30 U.S. Senators who, on Sept. 25, wrote to Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee, to urge him to include companion language within his chairman’s mark of the Farm Bill that would reflect the compromise on country-of-origin labeling (COOL) that was reached in July by the U.S. House of Representatives in its version of the Farm Bill. This effort was led by Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., and Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., longtime supporters of COOL.
The Senators’ letter states in part: “Because of USDA’s inability over the past five years to create a workable and common-sense rule, now is the time for congressional intervention to ensure the long-awaited implementation of mandatory COOL…Numerous consumer polls have consistently shown widespread support for COOL…just further verifications of information we have known for years; consumers want to know where their food comes from…â€
“It is so refreshing to see these Senators truly listen to the wishes of their constituents instead of bowing to the powerful influence of the multinational meat packers,†said R-CALF USA COOL Committee Chair Mike Schultz. “We know the packers and processors will still try to kill COOL, but let me remind them that COOL is no more burdensome than what they already do by specifying ownership of the cattle on the checks they write.
“Just this week, Philip H. Kimball, executive director of the North American Meat Processors, stated in an article that COOL is ‘not appropriate,’†Schultz pointed out. “What Kimball really means is that COOL won’t be as profitable as keeping consumers in the dark about where their beef comes from. With all the recent food safety scares here in the U.S., it’s just common sense to give consumers the information they have the right to know.â€
Additional signers of the letter include: Sen. Byron L. Dorgan, D-N.D.; Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa; Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.; Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo.; Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.; Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.; Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.; Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M.; Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis.; Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.; Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo.; Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont.; Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass.; Sen. Robert P. Casey, Jr., D-Pa.; Sen. Joseph R. Biden, Jr., D-Del.; Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.; Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.; Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.; Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.; Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.; Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.; Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Ark.; Sen. Jeff Sessions, R- Ala.; Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D.
