Fix Country-of-Origin Labeling, before it hurts cattlemen
Jul 23, 2007 10:43 AM
By Steve Foglesong, NCBA
Congress passed a mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) law for many fresh meat products as part of the 2002 Farm Bill. Its implementation has been delayed a number of times, mainly because of the logistical nightmares it will create for the livestock industry.
NCBA members do not oppose the concept of COOL. We raise the safest and best beef in the world, and we are proud to put a USA label on it. But specific flaws in the 2002 law are harmful to cattlemen, which is why NCBA has made several efforts to fix the statute. Unfortunately, we’ve been unable to do so, and we are all out of reprieves. Mandatory COOL is going into effect in September of 2008 – there’s just no way around it. This gives us very little time to persuade Congress to address the shortcomings of this law. But that’s exactly what we need to do, and we need your help.
How is the law flawed? There are numerous deficiencies with the current COOL law, but let’s focus on the major problems:
Poultry is completely exempt. That’s right – our #1 protein competitor is totally exempt from COOL. Proponents will say the United States does not import a lot of fresh poultry. That’s true, but that’s not the issue. By exempting all poultry, we allow the industry with which we compete most fiercely to completely avoid the costs and regulatory burdens of COOL.
In terms of enjoyment and flavor, Americans have repeatedly expressed a preference for beef over chicken. But we all know it’s difficult for beef to compete with chicken on the basis of price. This gets even harder when we are saddled with the additional regulatory burdens and costs of COOL, from which poultry escapes completely.
Foodservice is exempt. Over half the beef consumed in America is not prepared at home – but rather in restaurants, hotels and cafeterias. For imported beef, the percentage is drastically higher. So where is the logic in having a grocery store meat case in which almost every single package of beef is labeled “product of USA,” while none of the beef served in a steakhouse, fast food drive-thru, or the local bar-and-grill is labeled at all?
If COOL is really all about informing consumers, this law falls woefully short by exempting the venues in which most imported beef is sold.
Record-keeping nightmares for cattlemen. Proponents of mandatory COOL would have you believe this law places a burden to prove origin on importers, but not on domestic producers. In fact, it’s exactly the opposite. The requirement is placed squarely on retailers to prove that any product with a USA label is legitimately born, raised, processed within our borders. The retailer has no choice but to push this burden downstream to the processor, and the processor will do likewise to the cattle producer. Already we’ve seen information emerging from the packing and retail sectors about the paperwork required to market cattle under this law, and it’s not a pretty picture. It’s extensive and expensive – and it starts now, because there is no exemption for cattle born before the effective date of the law. So calves born this spring – if they are to be slaughtered in the fall of 2008 – are included.
Subscribe to American Cowman Update e-newsletter!
Breaking industry news in your e-mail inbox every other week!
Subscribe at http://subscribe.americancowman.com/subscribe.cfm.