Tommy
Well-known member
House Votes to Strip Funding for Mandatory
Country of Origin Labeling for Meat
(Billings, MT) The U.S. House voted 187 to 240 against an amendment by
Montana Representative Denny Rehberg to fully fund the implementation
of
Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (MCOOL) for meat. Immediately
following
the vote Rehberg commented to the Montana Cattlemen's Association, "The
fight is a long way from over. Our consumers and our trading partners
desire
and deserve the ability to know where these products come from."
Rehberg, who ranches near Billings, has long supported MCOOL. In
closing
comments on the House floor Rehberg talked about the success of MCOOL
for
fish and read a quote from Texas Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs,
"Texas loves to buy Texas products, and this way they'll know they're
getting the quality they love, in turn sales will increase, providing a
boost to Texas shrimp producers, and the state's economy."
"Montana producers are 100% united in support of Mandatory Country of
Origin
Labeling," said MCA President Dennis McDonald. "MCA will now focus our
efforts to reinstate funding for COOL through the U.S. Senate."
Upon the defeat of the Rehberg amendment, Senator Conrad Burns' office
contacted Montana Cattlemen's Association with these comments from
Senator
Burns, "When the Senate takes up the Agriculture Appropriations bill
later
this month, I will fight to ensure that COOL implementation is funded,
and
that it remains the law of the land." Senator Burns is a senior member
of
the Senator Appropriations Committee and will be key to the
implementation
of Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling.
"I am relieved to hear Senator Burns' supportive comments of mandatory
COOL," said MCA Director Leon Perrin. "I have been disappointed in the
past
by Senator Burns' reluctance to move up implementation of COOL in the
Appropriations Committee. It is nice to see Montana's delegation now
realizes Montana's producers are prepared for mandatory COOL today."
Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling for beef, lamb, pork, fish,
fruits,
vegetables, and nuts was passed in the 2002 Farm Bill and initially
scheduled for implementation on September 30, 2004. "The opponents to
mandatory COOL are attempting to divide the support among the
commodities,"
said McDonald. "The original law was delayed for two-years, except for
fish.
Now meat labeling will be delayed for yet another year, but fruits and
vegetables will be labeled in 2006. Ask yourself, who benefits from not
labeling where our beef and meat comes from? The answer is the people
who
import cheap foreign live cattle and beef and then pass it off as a
U.S.
product, through misinformation that the USDA Grade Stamp or USDA
Inspected
sticker means the product is from the United States. Our consumers
deserve
the truth about where their food comes from."
Meat processors and their associations have joined together in an
effort to
kill MCOOL. The kill COOL coalition is made up of Tyson, Cargill,
National
Cattlemen's Beef Association, National Pork Producers, and American
Farm
Bureau Federation.
In closing on the House floor Representative Rehberg said, "They won't
[label meat] for purely economic reasons. It's time we send a message
to
those who are standing in the way, and allow us the opportunity to tell
the
American consumer, born, raised, and processed in America means
something -
buy American."
Country of Origin Labeling for Meat
(Billings, MT) The U.S. House voted 187 to 240 against an amendment by
Montana Representative Denny Rehberg to fully fund the implementation
of
Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (MCOOL) for meat. Immediately
following
the vote Rehberg commented to the Montana Cattlemen's Association, "The
fight is a long way from over. Our consumers and our trading partners
desire
and deserve the ability to know where these products come from."
Rehberg, who ranches near Billings, has long supported MCOOL. In
closing
comments on the House floor Rehberg talked about the success of MCOOL
for
fish and read a quote from Texas Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs,
"Texas loves to buy Texas products, and this way they'll know they're
getting the quality they love, in turn sales will increase, providing a
boost to Texas shrimp producers, and the state's economy."
"Montana producers are 100% united in support of Mandatory Country of
Origin
Labeling," said MCA President Dennis McDonald. "MCA will now focus our
efforts to reinstate funding for COOL through the U.S. Senate."
Upon the defeat of the Rehberg amendment, Senator Conrad Burns' office
contacted Montana Cattlemen's Association with these comments from
Senator
Burns, "When the Senate takes up the Agriculture Appropriations bill
later
this month, I will fight to ensure that COOL implementation is funded,
and
that it remains the law of the land." Senator Burns is a senior member
of
the Senator Appropriations Committee and will be key to the
implementation
of Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling.
"I am relieved to hear Senator Burns' supportive comments of mandatory
COOL," said MCA Director Leon Perrin. "I have been disappointed in the
past
by Senator Burns' reluctance to move up implementation of COOL in the
Appropriations Committee. It is nice to see Montana's delegation now
realizes Montana's producers are prepared for mandatory COOL today."
Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling for beef, lamb, pork, fish,
fruits,
vegetables, and nuts was passed in the 2002 Farm Bill and initially
scheduled for implementation on September 30, 2004. "The opponents to
mandatory COOL are attempting to divide the support among the
commodities,"
said McDonald. "The original law was delayed for two-years, except for
fish.
Now meat labeling will be delayed for yet another year, but fruits and
vegetables will be labeled in 2006. Ask yourself, who benefits from not
labeling where our beef and meat comes from? The answer is the people
who
import cheap foreign live cattle and beef and then pass it off as a
U.S.
product, through misinformation that the USDA Grade Stamp or USDA
Inspected
sticker means the product is from the United States. Our consumers
deserve
the truth about where their food comes from."
Meat processors and their associations have joined together in an
effort to
kill MCOOL. The kill COOL coalition is made up of Tyson, Cargill,
National
Cattlemen's Beef Association, National Pork Producers, and American
Farm
Bureau Federation.
In closing on the House floor Representative Rehberg said, "They won't
[label meat] for purely economic reasons. It's time we send a message
to
those who are standing in the way, and allow us the opportunity to tell
the
American consumer, born, raised, and processed in America means
something -
buy American."
