Just for the sake of discussion

[Anonymous]

I think if you checked you would see ,branded beef programs are just that,branded beef programs,country of orgin may or may not be implied,quality beef comes from more than one country.
MCOOL will tell a consumer,just that, the country of orgin, this gives the consumer the ability to determine for him self whats quality,be it a product of the USA,canada,or Mexico its just information that the consumer is being deprived of,so packers can pawn off cheaper sourced meat.............good luck

PS I will be straight up about M COOL,I dont look forward to competeing against South America for consumer dollars,where there is no winters and labor is 3 dollars a day.
We need to promote American beef and M COOL and so does the check off,then the cattle industry can work together for the good of all,but as long as the ami controls ncba/usda we fight.

Amen Haymaker- Good post :clap: But then what will we have to pick on Canucks for :???: :wink: :lol:

 

[HAY MAKER]

I think if you checked you would see ,branded beef programs are just that,branded beef programs,country of orgin may or may not be implied,quality beef comes from more than one country.
MCOOL will tell a consumer,just that, the country of orgin, this gives the consumer the ability to determine for him self whats quality,be it a product of the USA,canada,or Mexico its just information that the consumer is being deprived of,so packers can pawn off cheaper sourced meat.............good luck

PS I will be straight up about M COOL,I dont look forward to competeing against South America for consumer dollars,where there is no winters and labor is 3 dollars a day.
We need to promote American beef and M COOL and so does the check off,then the cattle industry can work together for the good of all,but as long as the ami controls ncba/usda we fight.

Amen Haymaker- Good post :clap: But then what will we have to pick on Canucks for :???: :wink: :lol:

AW There will always be a canadian hussie wanting ta fight,I sure dont have a problem finding them,or them finding me ...........good luck

 

[USgal-In-Manitoba]

To me its just sad that NCBA and some cattle producers don't have enough pride in their countries product or their country as a whole to put up the red, white, and blue colors and stick USA in front of their BEEF sign- and then sink even lower and support lying to and defrauding the US consumer, who for years has been our most loyal customer.... I guess they forget what country has allowed them to be in the business and for most it darn sure wasn't Mexico, Canada, Japan, Korea, Australia, or Uruguay, etc......It just befuddles me as to why they would want to promote these countries beef or cattle instead of their own- reminds me of the Ford dealer telling all his clients that Toyota is better...And I would think Canadians would be yelling to have theirs identified on the counters instead of having it mixed in with the cheap Mexican coming thru the states...

OT- Notice there is a couple of bullet holes in that skull did you have that animal tested for BSE? So are you saying it's not safe to eat at a mexican taco stand? That turning hunk of beef that they cut on all week sure tastes good in there tacos, especially if you wash it down with an ice cold beer.

I agree with Soapweed, the meat should be labeled as a specific product not just USA raised or Canadian raised. A USA raised label just tells me where the beef was raised, not what kind of meat I'm eating.

 

[Murgen]

PS I will be straight up about M COOL,I dont look forward to competeing against South America for consumer dollars,where there is no winters and labor is 3 dollars a day

Are you saying that the US consumer buys on price alone, and not because of any loyalty to their Country of Origin?

Then I guess you will have to differentiate your product, with quality and value added attributes.

If you are looking to not compete on cost alone, you will never win.

COOL won't do it for ya either. US commodity beef will still be higher priced.

 

[Anonymous]

Manitoba ranchers gal- That beast met its end back when you thought of a Mad Cow as a Saler- long before BSE.... :lol:

 

[Manitoba_Rancher]

You must have got someone else to shoot him as the bullet holes are pretty darn straight never seen a cop shoot that straight b4........ :wink:

 

[JAH]

What makes you guys think m-cool will work?
Have you noticed where the clothes on your back are made? Todays walmart society cares only for price. Not everyone but most on the whole.

 

[mrj]

You proponents of M-COOL are deluding yourselves and deceiving the consumer because only a small fraction of beef in the retail counter will be affected by that law. The majority of imported beef is exempted from that label.

There is NO food safety value in M-COOL. It was just warm, fuzzy, feel good vote buying legislation passed mostly by some Dems, at least one of whom ended up defeated anyway!.

Without M-ID, for food safety problems, generically labeling country of origin does nothing for the consumer, nor the producer, and only feeds the perception of a safer product. When consumers figure out that perception is bogus, they won't have much respect for the people perpetrating it.

MRJ

 

[Anonymous]

What makes you guys think m-cool will work?
Have you noticed where the clothes on your back are made? Todays walmart society cares only for price. Not everyone but most on the whole.

Clothes don't relate to sanitary, health, and safety issues either as the food you eat does....

In all the polls taken,even those by NCBA before they did their famous sellout to the Packers and flipflopped on the COOL issue, say that consumers want the choice between imported and domestic food product- and would prefer to buy a domestic product if available....

Meat now is one of the only products sold in the US that is not labeled- and the fraud promoted by USDA and NCBA and perpetrated by the Packers/retailers of removing the labeling and relabeling with a USDA stamp to pass off as US product would be a violation of most states false labeling and fraud laws if the USDA didn't control it...

But the good old boys at NCBA go right along with supporting this fraud being perpetrated on the US consumer.......Sure shoots the old code of the west of truth and justice down the tubes....

I wonder how much USA- raised labeled Beef could have been sold in the months following 9/11 if it were available... :???:

I wonder how much USA- raised labeled Beef could be sold if the terrorist ever do accomplish an attack on our imported food supply which Tommy Thompson says is wide open.... :???:

I wonder how much USA-raised labeled Beef can be sold if Canada keeps finding BSE positive cows and the consumer groups keep going after it... :???:

 

[Murgen]

In all the polls taken,even those by NCBA before they did their famous sellout to the Packers and flipflopped on the COOL issue, say that consumers want the choice between imported and domestic food product- and would prefer to buy a domestic product if available....

What year was that in anyway, I haven't read about that yet!

 

[agman]

Soap-- As a good NCBA card carrier maybe you can explain NCBA's current policy- none of the other NCBAer's will...

NCBA supported mandatory US beef for the school lunch program-which they said was a safety issue, now this years gathering of the NCBA elite came out supporting mandatory US beef for the military....If they think that is important for kids and our troops why don't they believe the common folk should have a choice if its US beef or slaughtered in a back alley in Tijuana :???:

Mandating the serving of U.S. beef is vastly different from labeling for the average consumer. I think the NCBA made and supported a valid position. It was not as much a safety issue as is was the marketing of U.S. beef to groups supported by tax dollars-schools and the military.

 

[Anonymous]

In all the polls taken,even those by NCBA before they did their famous sellout to the Packers and flipflopped on the COOL issue, say that consumers want the choice between imported and domestic food product- and would prefer to buy a domestic product if available....

What year was that in anyway, I haven't read about that yet!

I think it was about 1999-2001 when NCBA did their flipflop-- They testified to Congress that over 80% of those in their polls wanted COOL...The testimony has been posted on here several times...

 

[agman]

This came up on Ranch Talk, under a different topic, so I will kick it over to this side of the page where a guy can roll up his sleeves and really get into the fray. :wink:

I grilled the Schwans Angus Beef Burgers for fathers day and they were great. Now someone will probably tell me that it was foreign beef or something.

Just sad that you are made to guess :wink: ... Everyone should have the right to know where their food comes from...Nothing looks better than a good old USA- RAISED BEEF label on the package....

I was in town the other day at the same time the Schwan's truck was, so bought a package of their Black Angus Steak Burgers. There were eight burgers in the box, and each weighed 5.3 oz. Counting tax, I think it came to right at $16, so it was $2 per burger. They were very good, even though I have no idea if it was completely a product of the USA or not. I am quite sure that it is a consistent product. Schwan's has a good reputation, and even though it is expensive, a buyer is assured of a high quality, fine tasting burger.

On the other hand, a statement of "USA-Raised Beef" assures me of absolutely nothing, other than the beef was "raised" in the USA. There is a very wide diversity of cattle in the good ol' USA, from Corriente grass-feds to New Hampshire Holstein to Nebraska corn-fed to Alaska musk-ox. Just because a batch of beef says USA-Raised Beef, I cannot be confident that it will taste good. Probably in fact, the other extreme would be more apt to be true. If the USA label is the only "claim to fame" that a package of beef displays, it probably doesn't amount to much. On the flip side of the coin, anyone who purchased beef based solely on "USA-Raised Beef" and didn't like it, they would be pretty hesitant to buy any beef with that label again. Any high-end beef product would proudly proclaim something such as Nebraska Corn-Fed Beef, or South Dakota Premium Beef, or something else with some actual meaning.

How about "USA Processed Soda Pop"? That would sure have a lot of significance. Anything of any flavor would qualify, from sugary to diet-style, from caffeine to non-caffeine. The original label would be a non-issue.

You are right on the money with your observation and conclusion.

 

[JAH]

I wonder how much U.S.A. labeled beef will be sold if we find more B.S.E. cases in the U.S.?

 

[Soapweed]

All I know is that the Schwan's Black Angus Steak Burger was good stuff. I am guessing that the average American housewife doesn't really care in what country the critter originated, as long as she can be assured that the next package of Schwan's product is consistent and tastes as good as the first.

My Wilson boots are made with Mexican labor, but they are high quality boots. They suit me fine. My straw hat was made in Mexico. My handy-dandy cowboy shirt, complete with snaps, yokes, and pockets, was made in China. For twelve bucks at Walmart, I'm not complaining.

I don't think consumers are nearly as country conscious as we would hope them to be. If I'm not, how can I hold other consumers to a higher standard than I do myself.

It is not a perfect world anymore. For that matter, it never was a perfect world. America was discovered because of trying to find closer trade routes. Globalization was taking place even back in 1492, when Columbus sailed the ocean blue.

 

[Anonymous]

Soap-- As a good NCBA card carrier maybe you can explain NCBA's current policy- none of the other NCBAer's will...

NCBA supported mandatory US beef for the school lunch program-which they said was a safety issue, now this years gathering of the NCBA elite came out supporting mandatory US beef for the military....If they think that is important for kids and our troops why don't they believe the common folk should have a choice if its US beef or slaughtered in a back alley in Tijuana :???:

Mandating the serving of U.S. beef is vastly different from labeling for the average consumer. I think the NCBA made and supported a valid position. It was not as much a safety issue as is was the marketing of U.S. beef to groups supported by tax dollars-schools and the military.

How about all the kids, disabled, unemployed, and elderly on food stamps tax dollars- or welfare tax dollars.... Wouldn't it be good for them too.... :???:

I'm not against their proposal- in fact I support it, but what makes that group better than the next?-- why say they should have US beef when many others don't even have the choice......I agree with you that all US taxpayers dollars should be spent for US product if its available.

 

[Anonymous]

All I know is that the Schwan's Black Angus Steak Burger was good stuff. I am guessing that the average American housewife doesn't really care in what country the critter originated, as long as she can be assured that the next package of Schwan's product is consistent and tastes as good as the first.

.

And I will disagree with you...I think the huge support the Montana COOL law got and the large majority vote and support from both parties the Montana legislature gave for it shows that there is that concern- and that people want to be given the option....

The only opponents were a few Packers/retailers groups and a few NCBAers that are not proud of USA product.....

 

[Anonymous]

I wonder how much U.S.A. labeled beef will be sold if we find more B.S.E. cases in the U.S.?

Ain't gonna happen-- Didn't you read what Gary Weber and Johanns said :???: They said there is no BSE in the USA....Don't you trust your NCBA and USDA? :???: :wink:

 

[Soapweed]

I'm not against their proposal- in fact I support it, but what makes that group better than the next?-- why say they should have US beef when many others don't even have the choice......I agree with you that all US taxpayers dollars should be spent for US product if its available.

Everyone "has a choice". There are plenty of branded beef products available whereby the consumer can get anything they want. I am just saying that there is no reason for cattle producers to be burdened with the extra expense of labeling our beef as "USA-Raised Beef" when it doesn't mean a thing. It is just commodity beef, selling for commodity price, so why have extra expense that will never be recovered. Branded beef with COOL is "special" so the expense of labeling it as such will be recovered.

Another burr under my blanket started gouging again yesterday while listening to the Derry Brownfield show. Once again he was harping that "ranchers don't sell beef, they sell cattle". What an ignorant statement. Any rancher that doesn't realize that his cattle are "beef on the hoof", isn't very smart. As ranchers, we need to do everything in our power to make sure that the cattle we raise go on to become the best BEEF that they can be. This includes giving shots only in the neck, handling the cattle with as little stress as possible, and doing anything else of a quality control nature. Derry Brownfield's "common sense coalition" sometimes seems like a common sense coagulation, with the common sense all clotted and no longer moving. :?

 

[CattleRMe]

I sell pounds the more the better..............

Ok to be more serious I support county of origin labeling. I do think with all the bse on the news consumers want to know where the animal they are serving is coming from. We recently ran out of meat and had to buy some in the store. Buying hamburger is a science you have to decide how much fat you want and then have no idea where it came from. That bothered me a bit.