Ag Policy Blog

A coalition of 229 groups sent a letter Tuesday to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack supporting USDA's proposed modifications to the Country-of-Origin Labeling law.

Some major livestock, meatpacking and agricultural groups have opposed USDA's changes, as have Canadian and Mexican livestock groups that helped bring the World Trade Organization case against the U.S. over the labeling law. The WTO ruled the Country-of-Origin Label discriminated against imported livestock from Canada and Mexico.

Last month, USDA issued proposed rule changes for muscle cuts of meat to require more information on where each of the production steps --- born, raised and slaughtered --- occurred. For instance, a steer born in Canada, but raised and slaughtered in the U.S. would be labeled effectively in that manner, "Born in Canada, Raised and Slaughtered in the United States."

For all domestic animals, the label would change from "Product of the U.S." to "Born, Raised and Slaughtered in the U.S."

Retailers also would be prevented from co-mingling muscle cuts from different countries in packaging. Currently, a label for multiple cuts of meat may state "Product of the United States, Mexico and Canada." Now, meat from animals from different countries will have to be segregated during processing to provide more accurate information.

According to the summary of the proposed rule change, 3,038 livestock packing and processing facilities, 30,156 supermarkets and warehouse clubs are affected by the change, as well as 156 chicken-processing plants. The White House Office of Management and Budget stated it will cost those facilities an estimated $32.8 million to implement the changes.

Groups that support the new rule seek to avoid congressional action in the farm bill, particularly given that the House of Representatives would be less likely to support COOL now than in 2008. The 229 groups that signed the letter Tuesday, spearheaded by the National Farmers Union, wrote that the information age is driving people to want to know more about the products they buy.

"Americans want to know more about just about everything they own or consume, and that includes knowing the origins of their food," the groups wrote.

The pro-COOL groups also added, "The only acceptable way to respond to the WTO challenge is to make labels more informative for consumers, not water them down. U.S. farmers and ranchers are proud of what they produce and should be allowed to promote their products. Consumers deserve clear, direct, and informative labels. Providing more accurate labels with more information is a win-win situation for producers and consumers alike."

With a March 11 posting in the Federal Register, any public comments on the proposed rule must be received by April 11. USDA faces a May 23 deadline to finalize the rule.

The letter to Vilsack with each of the organizations supporting COOL can be found here: http://cdn.e2ma.net/…

I can be found on Twitter @ChrisClaytonDTN.

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