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From the Tri-State Livestock News, Saturday, Dec 5, 2009

Monday, December 7, 2009 Impact of COOL on meat industry

By Amanda NolzShare on Facebook Email Print Comment Recommend

Mandatory COOL became effective into law on Sept. 30, 2008. Commodities such as whole muscle cuts and ground pork/beef covered under COOL must be labeled at retail to indicate their country of origin. This ground pork label says the meat is “Product of USA, Canada.”
TSLN photo by Kelsey Snyder


ENLARGE Don Stewart, Secretary of Agriculture appointee to the Cattlemen's Beef Board

Without a doubt, Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) has been a hot topic for debate amongst cattle producer groups, processors and retailers. In a matter of minutes, COOL became the “it” word at most beef industry meetings, and although producers never came to a consensus on the plan and USDA admitted it would have trouble enforcing it, mandatory COOL became effective into law on Sept. 30, 2008. This means commodities, such as whole muscle cuts and ground beef, covered under COOL must be labeled at retail to indicate their country of origin. However, they are excluded from mandatory COOL if they are an ingredient in a processed food item.

Despite the industry's best intentions to earn a premium in the market place for United States labeled beef products, Don Stewart, Secretary of Agriculture appointee to the Cattlemen's Beef Board and owner of Stewart-Milling, Inc., disagrees with the law and expressed his views to the producers in attendance at the 2009 Annual South Dakota Cattlemen's Association's Trade Show and Convention.

Not COOL?
Ask the average consumer what COOL is and a producer might get a blank stare or a reference to t-shirts made in Japan. Stewart says the consumer simply doesn't notice or care that the COOL label is stamped on meat products in grocery stores.

“I've asked friends and neighbors their thoughts on the COOL labeling in the grocery store, and most have either never heard of it or never noticed it when purchasing meat,” said Stewart. “I'm convinced that if a selection of Canadian Choice beef was priced at $5.29, and U.S. High Choice beef priced at $5.49 were placed side by side in the retail counter, the Canadian beef would sell out completely first before consumers would purchase the more expensive product.”

In a time where the United States economy is in a downward shift, and the U.S. dollar is weak, American consumers have less disposable income to spend on high priced beef. Stewart said the proposed benefits of COOL legislation have simply not developed for producers.

“Consumer advocate groups told us they would like COOL, but nobody asked the actual consumers, ‘Will you pay more for United States beef?'” noted Stewart. “If we tell consumers where their beef comes from, will they pay us accordingly? No, there is no premium. U.S. beef will be sold at fair market price, while foreign meat will be discounted. That only upsets our trade partners. Why would we put up these barriers for ourselves? We have been fighting limitations for years. Why are we imposing our own?”

Why COOL?
Stewart told the audience of producers that he wishes COOL would have been further thought out before being imposed on the industry. Because the USDA lacks funding to enforce the law, there is no way to be sure everyone is following the regulations set by COOL legislation.

“Our industry didn't think through COOL enough,” said Stewart. “When you make a decision on your ranch, you think about the lifetime benefits or effects of that decision first. That wasn't what we did with COOL.”

In his strongly spoken keynote address during the luncheon on Wednesday, Stewart denounced the law completely in his closing arguments.

“COOL is a bad law, plain and simple,” announced a passionate Stewart. “There are no track backs to enforce the law. The consumer doesn't care, and it is costing the industry money. Where does this money hurt the industry the most? The consumer doesn't pay for it; the cow/calf producer does.”
As the economy improves, Stewart looks forward to the future of the beef industry and notes that COOL legislation isn't going to get in his way.

“The world is a full market like a bucket of water,” said Stewart. “The export value is greater than the import value, and our greatest market is outside the United States. As people's lives get better, they seek proteins, and the best tasting protein in the world is U.S. beef. Even though COOL stands as a trade barrier, producers still need to strive to continue to raise the best beef they can, and eventually, we will get paid for what it is worth.”
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