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Tester Asks USDA to Correct Questionable COOL Loophole Washington, D.C. (September 11, 2008) – R-CALF USA members wish to publicly thank Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., for taking the lead to correct a serious and questionable loophole the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) included in its Interim Final Rule for mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL), in which labeling muscle cuts of beef from cattle exclusively born, raised and slaughtered in the U.S. with a USA label becomes an option, not a requirement for meatpackers. “Under these rules meatpackers will be encouraged to choose their cheapest and easiest option: labeling products with multiple countries of origin,” Tester’s letter states. “This gives consumers the impression that there is no domestically born, raised and slaughtered livestock and denies our American livestock producers the opportunity to focus on promoting U.S. beef, lamb, pork, chicken or goat meat.” Originally passed into law with the 2002 Farm Bill, the COOL language underwent some changes and the law again was passed in the 2008 Farm Bill. Congress’ intent with the new language was to provide consumers with as much information as possible about the source of their food, as well as to create new marketing opportunities for domestic producers, and failure to accurately state the origin of meat products diminishes consumer choice and producer benefits and strays from the intent of the law, according to Tester. “One has to wonder whether USDA’s loophole was unintentional, or whether it’s yet another example of USDA favoring multinational meatpackers over domestic producers,” asked R-CALF USA COOL Committee Chair Mike Schultz. “If this loophole is allowed to stand, then meatpackers would have the ability to undermine Congress’ intent. Giving meatpackers the option of not using a USA label on domestic meat is not what Congress intended and would mislead U.S. consumers. We appreciate Senator Tester’s effort to correct this problem.” “With the livestock industry becoming more and more consolidated under the control of a handful of companies, this possibility of generic labeling should be alarming to both the USDA and American consumers,” Tester’s letter states. “I understand that these rules have been developed to be the least restrictive to business; however, the priority should be adequate and accurate labeling and consumer choice. Mandatory labeling should not be a choice for meat packers – it should create choices for consumers. “The costs of physically separating meat in the process chain and accurately labeling products are minor in comparison to the gains achieved by strengthening consumer information and creating additional marketing opportunities to United States livestock producers,” the letter continues. USDA is accepting public comments on the Interim Final Rule on COOL until Sept. 29, 2008. R-CALF USA encourages its members to request that USDA withdraw this questionable loophole at once and also to request that the agency discontinue any attempts to undermine the congressional intent of this important law. Note: To view a copy of Tester’s letter, please visit the Country-of-Origin Labeling” link at www.r-calfusa.com. # # # R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on trade and marketing issues. Members are located across 47 states and are primarily cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and/or feedlot owners. R-CALF USA has dozens of affiliate organizations and various main-street businesses are associate members. For more information, visit www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516. |
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This page was last updated on Wednesday, December 24, 2008. |
