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M-COOL NOW

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Editorial: Congress: Get COOL



A Cap Times editorial, Jan. 17, 2007

The Capital Times

Madison, Wisconsin



The new Congress has many demands on it, some of them complex and challenging. But one of the most important steps that this Congress can take is an exceptionally easy, and exceptionally popular, one.



In 2002, Congress overwhelmingly enacted Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) legislation, which requires retailers to inform consumers about which country produced their beef, pork, lamb, produce, peanuts and seafood. For a variety of reasons ranging from concerns about health standards to a desire to "buy local" and encourage sustainable development the legislation had strong appeal.



So why aren't most foods labeled according to COOL standards?



The food industry did not want to be honest with the American people. Working with their Republican allies in key congressional positions, industry lobbyists succeeded in blocking COOL



With Democrats such as Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin and Wisconsin Rep. Dave Obey taking over the chairmanships of the Senate Agriculture Committee and the House Appropriations, respectively, a coalition of organizations that include the National Farmers Union, as well as the Consumer Federation of America, the National Consumers League and other groups, has written a letter urging the newly empowered committee chairmen to move rapidly to provide the Department of Agriculture with implementation funds and to require the department to immediately prepare a plan for implementing mandatory country-of-origin labeling.



It is time to get this done.



madison.com
 
Farmers Union Presses Congress on COOL



Country of origin labeling looks to be a hot topic in this Congress.
(1/15/2007)
J.T. Smith


One of the hottest issues in the 110th Congress may be COOL.



It was originally passed - after great debate - in 2002. But almost none of it was ever actually implemented.


The National Farmers Union fought hard for "country-of-origin labeling" the first time around, only to see the law lose its teeth. Now NFU, along with a group of national organizations, including the Association of Family Farms and the Consumer Federation of America, are calling for full implementation of a mandatory COOL this time around.


The law is supposed to require retailers to notify consumers of the country-of-origin of beef, pork, lamb, produce, peanuts and seafood.


But of all of that, NFU Chairman Tom Buis says COOL finally was implemented only on seafood. Buis says that was the result of a series of backroom deals and riders added to "must pass legislation" that prevented USDA from actually doing its job.


Buis says COOL is good because it will spotlight American-produced products.


"Country-of-origin labeling is an essential tool for U.S. consumers and food producers alike," Buis says. "This is the only mechanism to differentiate high quality U.S.-produced food."


In a letter to the Chairmen and Ranking members of the U.S. House and Senate Agriculture and Appropriations Committees, the coalition says the time has come for Congress to provide USDA with implementation funds, and require the department to immediately prepare a common-sense rule for implementing mandatory COOL.


"American consumers and producers have, time and again, expressed their strong support for this program," Buis says. "In fact, 80 percent of U.S. consumers want to know where their food comes from. We hope the new Congress will act with deliberate speed on this important matter."
 
Editorial: Focusing on food safety
A Cap Times editorial, Jan. 17, 2007
U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., is stepping up as a champion of food safety, and even President Bush's appointees are being forced to take notice.

When Democrats took charge of the Senate this month, Kohl became the chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Food and Drug Administration budget. As such, he cannot be ignored when he says, "There's really not very much food safety regulations on fruits and vegetables. And a large percentage of what we eat is imported. So there needs to be a lot of oversight."

Nor can Wisconsin's senior senator be ignored when he seeks to focus the attention of national policymakers on the plight of those who consume unhealthful food.

Kohl has not forgotten that an elderly Manitowoc woman died and 49 other people in Wisconsin became sick last September after eating spinach infected with E. coli bacteria. That E. coli outbreak was linked to more than 200 illnesses in 26 states, which led to at least 104 hospitalizations and three deaths, according to the FDA.

Sen. Herb Kohl is pushing for better food safety enforcement.
The E. coli outbreak made national news. Most deaths that result from consumption of unsafe food do not. In any given year, however, as many as 5,000 Americans die needlessly after eating or drinking products that should never have posed any danger to them.

Kohl has been pressuring FDA officials to get out of Washington to states such as Wisconsin, where the damage done by lax food safety rules and inspections is evident and severe.

Last week, FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach agreed to attend a Senate field hearing in Wisconsin. While the site for the hearing has not been selected, it is tentatively scheduled for April.

But Kohl has indicated that he would like to see it take place in Manitowoc, or at the very least in a location where people from the Manitowoc area who were sickened by the outbreak are able to attend and testify.

It is easy to dismiss hearings as nothing more than talk. But when they are organized and chaired by a senator who is serious about making something happen and who has the power of the purse in his hands a field hearing of this kind can be of significant consequence.

That is as it should be.

The Bush administration and the Republican Congress of former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, with their devotion to serving the interests of food industry campaign contributors and lobbyists, allowed food safety concerns to go unaddressed.

If the election of Nov. 7 means anything, it is that there is a need for a rapid and radical shift in focus and priorities.

Kohl seems to be signaling a willingness to promote such a shift. And he has the authority to make it happen.

Wisconsinites can, and should, cheer him on by making sure that this field hearing is a major event that delivers a clear message to FDA Commissioner von Eschenbach: No one should ever die from eating spinach.


Published: January 17, 2007
 
Senate democrats such as Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin and Wisconsin Rep. Dave Obey taking over the chairmanships of the Senate Agriculture Committee and the House Appropriations Committee, respectively, a coalition of organizations that include the National Farmers Union, as well as the Consumer Federation of America, the National Consumers League and other groups, has written a letter urging the newly empowered committee chairmen to move rapidly to provide the Department of Agriculture with implementation funds and to require the department to immediately prepare a plan for implementing mandatory country-of-origin labeling. It could happen in ten days.
 
Group Calls for Competition Title in Farm Bill

The Western Organization of Resource Councils is calling for the next Farm Bill to ensure market fairness standards.
(1/17/2007)
Farm Futures staff

The next Farm Bill should contain its first Competition Title to ensure fairness of competition in livestock markets, according to the Western Organization of Resource Councils.

WORC Livestock Committee Chair Mabel Dobbs says only four companies control cattle, hog and poultry markets, making them uncompetitive and unfair for producers.

"These companies use secret deals and captive supplies to lower the price paid to family farmers and ranchers – a cost that WORC estimates at $1 billion or more a year," Dobbs says.

The reforms backed by WORC and other groups include:

Ending packer control of livestock markets by setting limits on packer ownership of livestock and having firm, negotiated prices for captive supply contracts.
Ensuring fair poultry contracts and markets through fairness standards for contracts and bargaining rights for contract farmers.
Keeping producers and consumers better informed through improved Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting and implementation of Country-of-Origin Labeling.
The Competition Title is endorsed by WORC and other groups including Farmers Union, R-CALF USA, Organization for Competitive Markets, Sustainable Ag Working Group, and Center for Rural Affairs.


"This platform can restore competition to livestock markets and bring back profits to family-based producers and the rural communities where they live and work," Dobbs says.


A copy of the Competition Title is available at http://www.worc.org/ or by contacting Jeri Lynn Bakken of WORC at 701-376-7077.
 

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