Mandatory country-of-origin labeling

[Econ101]

Tam- what percentage of your precious Canadian herd now have total traceback and birth dates? 15%- 20% or less than that.... I read the other day that it was less than 30% on ages alone this year.......

I think I heard we have about 800,000 exportable cattle registered for birth date now, so percentage wise the US would have to have about 5,600,000 registered. How long do you think it will take the US to register 5.6 million head for birth date alone Oldtimer? As for the traceback since exportable cattle are all under the age of thirty months just how hard will it be to trace them if you have the birth place and the last owner known before the search ever has to get started. By asking both of the known producers one simple question the full trace could be done. ask the first producer who he sold to and the last producer who he bought from and if they match the search is done. We are only talking about a short life span here.

If your country does not like the way the US produces beef- don't buy it.....

Well Oldtimer someone in the US must like the way we produce beef as our sale barns are loaded with US buyers and our slaughter houses are working over time to process all the beef that someone in the US is buying and eating. Isn't that why R-CALF is fighting to close the border again as you don't like the fact our beef is being enjoyed in the US by US consumers. OH I know if you had M"COOL the US consumer would know it was Canadian and not US so it wouldn't sell. That argument might hold if it wasn't for the fact that US consumers even with M'COOL would still be eating our beef without knowing as not all meat in the US will be labeled.

I happen to agree with the Japanese- they are the consumer- the consumer should have the say on what they want to buy and what they don't.....If they want it tested- we should test if we want to sell to them....If they want to buy only those with age and feed affidavits- great- they are the consumer... I am not a backer of NCBA's "have Congress put the screws to them" point of view......

Gee Oldtimer you are willing to give the Japanese what they want as they are the consumers but what about the US consumers?

Consumers in the US would just like to know which country the beef they are buying comes from- let alone which ranch.....

Oh this was written by a US consumer of beef with what I think is a finger on what the US consumer wants.

The demand for source- and age-verified cattle is growing at a phenomenal rate both domestically and globally. The driver behind traceability is, and always will be, the marketplace. Being sidetracked by the food-safety and animal-health aspects, we've failed to embrace the desires of the marketplace.

If we'd focused on our customers, it's unlikely we'd find ourselves in the position of not only trailing nearly every beef-producing country in the world, but at risk of being uncompetitive in a large part of the global market.

The interminable delay in getting the Japanese and Korean borders open should have given us ample time to move forward. Instead, we essentially squandered it.

Attend meetings and you'll hear what Japan, Costco, Wal-Mart, McDonald's and our other customers are saying. It's not about a government-mandated program; it's about an industry responding to consumer demands.
The question shouldn't be whether the government timeline for ID implementation is too aggressive. It should be about how we can get a system implemented more quickly.

Canada has regained a much higher portion than the U.S. of its lost markets, but the message has been lost on U.S. cattlemen. The issue of traceability -- source, age or process verification -- isn't about governments, trade, food safety or animal health. It's about responding to the marketplace.

And as far as your argument that we don't have enough beef to fill the Japanese and Asian market-- my feelings are that IF and WHEN we get the market back- then we should import what beef we need - But not until then......

that might be OK if you didn't need imports to supply your domestic markets with beef everyone can still afford.

On another subject--Where are all these packing plants you guys are building- what is the status on them? Are they going to get going?
Locally many here agree with me that strengthening the Canadian slaughter industry could be good locally---Especially if some of the Independent plants can survive and make competition for the Conglomerates and Then if the border ever truly reopened both ways and Canada dropped its 10+ years trade barriers to US cattle, we could be much closer to slaughter houses than we are now....

Why are you worried about our slaughter capacity and why should we take your BSE tainted cattle Oldtimer you are the ones that refuse to live by the rules that you think you can force on us. What about our homeland security and the risk your cattle could cause to us. Don't we have the same right to know as the US consumers when it comes to imported product?

Tam, Since you have no problem remaining silent about market power and its abuse, why not let the U.S. keep the border closed, buy Canadian beef real cheap with demand suppression, and sell that "cheap" beef to American and Canadian consumers who can't afford to buy it at real prices? Heck, we might even get Canadian taxpayers to subsidize a large part of it. Seems like this would solve all your problems (sarcasm).

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

Hey Econ do you post on the political page under the name DISAGREEABLE?

 

[katrina]

Hi OT,
Yup, I have seen that too. I got a wild hair to buy some bred cows. THey had 5 brands on them. :roll: :roll: :roll: :wink: No problem tracing them back. I came out ok on the deal, but before I buy again I'm going to go spend the day at the sale barn before I buy. And buy from complete dispersions.
As I was waiting to get my buyers number, I talked to salebarn manager and I asked him about iding. He said, in his opinion, that he had hot cows come throught the salebarn and had no trouble tracing them back with the brands.....

 

[Anonymous]

The top ten reasons why Mandatory Country of Origin labeling is a joke.

1. Consumers aren't asking for it.

2. If consumers were asking for it, there is numerous source verified branded beef programs available to them.

3. The law prohibited the means to enforce it because M COOL proponents didn't want to be burdened with proving what they themselves demanded (where beef was born, raised, and slaughtered).

4. The law exempts 75% of the imports from labeling.

5. The law would benefit foreign beef at the expense of domestic beef due to the rarity of foreign beef at the meat counter.

6. Country of origin labeling will require a traceback mechanism that will add costs to the packing and retail industries that will be passed on to producers in the form of lower cattle prices.

7. Packers and retailers of all shapes and sizes testified against this law at the "M"COOL listening sessions.

8. Contrary to popular opinion, producers do not know more about selling beef than those who actually sell beef.

9. Canadian beef, which would capture the highest percent of labeled foreign beef, is every bit as good as our best beef.

10. Most of the beef imported into the U.S. is lean trimmings from Australia and New Zealand that are ground and blended with our surplus 50/50 trim to add value to it. If this imported beef was not exempt from the current law, a "BLENDED BEEF" label would still offer nothing of value to the consumer.


MANDATORY COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING, THE CLASSIC CASE OF "SYMBOLISM OVER SUBSTANCE".


~SH~

 

[Sandhusker]

Once again, SH, your lack of business accumen surfaces again. Now I understand why you are a gopher trapper. :wink:

If you wait for the consumers to demand something, you are already too late. Wise businessmen think ahead to a product they can sell. A perfect example is CAB. Do you remember any consumers asking for any Angus products? Hmmm, seems they stumbled on a selling tool, didn't they?

M-COOL can be easily enforced. Remove cattle from the j-list and you know the origin of every animal here. Boxed beef is already labeled, so the work there is done. We can label EVERYTHING very quickly.

Foreign beef would have an uphill battle for sales when the checkoff funded beef advertising promotes US beef exclusively. Rarity does not automaticly equal desireabilty. How rare is Kangaroo meat in Kadoka? Think you could sell any Kanga-steaks?

The people selling beef are doing it to make money. They know about making money. If they can make more money selling chicken or kangaroo, they will abandon beef and do just that.

Why are you so against something that most of the industrialized world has already adopted and can only help cattlemen? Your true colors are questionable.

 

[Tam]

:

If you wait for the consumers to demand something, you are already too late. Wise businessmen think ahead to a product they can sell.

The concept of traceability has been a hot-button topic for a long time, but somehow it's gotten tangled up in the BSE issue. ID's proponents see themselves as vindicated about ID's necessity, while opponents view it as just another USDA-led initiative that doesn't consider the needs of producers.

The Sept. 11, 2001 terrorism attacks, and the possibility of bio-terrorism attacks in the U.S., increased government's desire for traceability. The problem is that, in the process of considering traceability in this light, most folks in the industry missed the real impetus behind traceability, which is the marketplace.

The demand for source- and age-verified cattle is growing at a phenomenal rate both domestically and globally. The driver behind traceability is, and always will be, the marketplace. Being sidetracked by the food-safety and animal-health aspects, we've failed to embrace the desires of the marketplace.

If we'd focused on our customers, it's unlikely we'd find ourselves in the position of not only trailing nearly every beef-producing country in the world, but at risk of being uncompetitive in a large part of the global market.
The interminable delay in getting the Japanese and Korean borders open should have given us ample time to move forward. Instead, we essentially squandered it.

Attend meetings and you'll hear what Japan, Costco, Wal-Mart, McDonald's and our other customers are saying. It's not about a government-mandated program; it's about an industry responding to consumer demands.

The question shouldn't be whether the government timeline for ID implementation is too aggressive. It should be about how we can get a system implemented more quickly.

Canada has regained a much higher portion than the U.S. of its lost markets, but the message has been lost on U.S. cattlemen. The issue of traceability -- source, age or process verification -- isn't about governments, trade, food safety or animal health. It's about responding to the marketplace.

Sandhusker
Who is the most outspoken opponent of M"ID" and thinks it is just
a USDA-led initiative that doesn't consider the needs of producers?
Under whos pressure did the US Producers fail to embrace the desires of the marketplace?
Who took the focus off the consumers when they had M"ID" taken out of M"COOL" because they didn't want to burden the poor producers?
Under whos great advice did the US put themselves in the position of not only trailing nearly every beef-producing country in the world, but at risk of being uncompetitive in a large part of the global market?

Gee I guess this proves that R-CALF has no Wise businessmen as if they had thought ahead they would have seen that the driver behind traceability is, and always will be, the marketplace. By letting yourselves be sidetracked by R-CALF's need not to burden the producers , you have failed to embrace the desires of the marketplace. And have put yourself in the position of not only trailing nearly every beef-producing country in the world, but at risk of being uncompetitive in a large part of the global market.
Congrats Sandhusker this article says The demand for source- and age-verified cattle is growing at a phenomenal rate both domestically and globally. But you choose to believe R-CALF's stand that consumers don't care as long as they know what country it came from :roll: Do you really think the Leo knows more than the likes of Costco, Wal-Mart, McDonald's? People that make a living at knowing what the customer wants and providing it to them at a cost they can afford. :roll:

 

[Sandhusker]

Gee, Tam, R-CALF is only trying to take a small step with COOL and you chastize them for not going all the way with M-ID? What do you expect of them? R-CALF has shown how we can have COOL simply and cheaply - boxed beef is already labeled when it hits our borders. Remove live cattle from the j-list and they are labeled when they cross the border - most Mexican cattle already are. Everything else is US. Wa-la COOL is in our laps. It's that ^&*% simple and yet between the packer's power and the Ag Committee's closed door non-funding horse crap, we can't get it done. Considering that, how is M-ID supposed to fly?

Who put is behind the rest of the world? The USDA - they make the rules. Why did they do it? The packer's wanted it that way - follow the money.

If you feel the need to point out we are "behind" others with traceback, why not the concern that we are also "behind" others in regard to our export/import policies concerning BSE? We're taking product from you that others won't take from us. Where is your concern there?

 

[Tam]

Gee, Tam, R-CALF is only trying to take a small step with COOL and you chastize them for not going all the way with M-ID? What do you expect of them? R-CALF has shown how we can have COOL simply and cheaply - boxed beef is already labeled when it hits our borders. Remove live cattle from the j-list and they are labeled when they cross the border - most Mexican cattle already are. Everything else is US. Wa-la COOL is in our laps. It's that ^&*% simple and yet between the packer's power and the Ag Committee's closed door non-funding horse crap, we can't get it done. Considering that, how is M-ID supposed to fly?

Who put is behind the rest of the world? The USDA - they make the rules. Why did they do it? The packer's wanted it that way - follow the money.

If you feel the need to point out we are "behind" others with traceback, why not the concern that we are also "behind" others in regard to our export/import policies concerning BSE? We're taking product from you that others won't take from us. Where is your concern there?

Simply and cheaply for you as a producer, but maybe there are some in the US that think that you could get more bang for your buck if you could actually guarantee that label, which is what the marketplace really cares about. You keep saying that the consumers don't care about what ranch it comes from only what country. If that is true then why is it that you need to know what ranch our beef comes from. I think I was told "if you want to put us at risk we should have the right to write our own rules" . Well if you are going to put the US marketplace at risk they should be the ones writing the rules not R-CALF. And according to this article the marketplace is more concerned about traceability of all cattle including those in the US than they are about a label that tells them very little.

how is M-ID supposed to fly?

Just like it does in nearly every other beef producing nation that has it. You take responibility for what you product and you tag it as yours, nation wide.

Who put is behind the rest of the world? The USDA -

We didn't way for the CFIA to get our M"ID" system in place we had some wise businessmen in the Canadian beef industry that saw a need for a National System and so one has been designed and is controlled by the industry that it serves. Why couldn't you? You should know by now that if you wait for a government to do something for you, you will not have any control over how it is run and it will cost twice as much? It is like you said if you wait for the consumers to demand something, you are already too late. Well if you wait until someone else designs it it is to late. Wise businessmen think ahead to a product they can sell. You are selling your beef not the government, so why should it be up to them to to design a system.

This article that I posted was from Cow Calf weekly and they are the ones pointing out how far behind and how concerned they are about it. I just posted it to prove to you that your claim that the US consumers don't care about traceability is just an misinformed excuse not to get moving on something that could get you up to speed and prove to all your consumers both domestic and Foreign that you as a producer stand behind the product you produce. To bad you and R-CALF can't see it that way.

 

[Sandhusker]

Tam, I think you're getting confused again on who said what. I have never said consumers don't care about traceability. I have never said that consumers don't care about what ranch.

R-CALF is trying to write rules because the USDA/AMI seems to think we don't need any. Their plan is to slap a USDA stamp on everything and let it in. Yes the marketplace should be writing the rules, but have you seen what happened lately in the Ag. Committee? A law was voted on, passed, and signed by the President - but still won't be implemented.

You missed my point competely when I asked how M-ID was supposed to fly. The packers/USDA are fighting the idea that we simply tell consumers where their beef came from, which we can do so easily now. But you think we should be pushing a plan where we try to tell the consumers where every animal spent every day of their life? They won't allow us a go-cart but you get on R-CALF for not asking for a Porsche? That makes no sense.

You never answered me why your concern doesn't extend to the US's BSE importing/exporting discrepancies.

 

[STAFF]

6. Country of origin labeling will require a traceback mechanism that will add costs to the packing and retail industries that will be passed on to producers in the form of lower cattle prices.

Our cost factor for the packer to retail averages $0.0025 per labeled packaged product for traceback recordkeeping. It's quite CHEAP.

 

[Sandhusker]

6. Country of origin labeling will require a traceback mechanism that will add costs to the packing and retail industries that will be passed on to producers in the form of lower cattle prices.

Our cost factor for the packer to retail averages $0.0025 per labeled packaged product for traceback recordkeeping. It's quite CHEAP.

Certainly makes one wonder if cost is truly the hangup, doesn't it?

 

[Tam]

[

quote="Sandhusker"]Tam, I think you're getting confused again on who said what. I have never said consumers don't care about traceability. I have never said that consumers don't care about what ranch.

Sorry R-Calfer have said it though

R-CALF is trying to write rules because the USDA/AMI seems to think we don't need any. Their plan is to slap a USDA stamp on everything and let it in. Yes the marketplace should be writing the rules, but have you seen what happened lately in the Ag. Committee? A law was voted on, passed, and signed by the President - but still won't be implemented.

You missed my point competely when I asked how M-ID was supposed to fly. The packers/USDA are fighting the idea that we simply tell consumers where their beef came from, which we can do so easily now. But you think we should be pushing a plan where we try to tell the consumers where every animal spent every day of their life? They won't allow us a go-cart but you get on R-CALF for not asking for a Porsche? That makes no sense.

If they spent half as much time working with the rest of the industry as they do taking people to court the industry designed M'ID could have been up and running like it is in Canada and you wouldn't have to worry about backroom dealings .

You never answered me why your concern doesn't extend to the US's BSE importing/exporting discrepancies

Those decrepancies to you are new rules based on the new science to most other.

 

[Anonymous]

Canadian Tam "Why are you worried about our slaughter capacity and why should we take your BSE tainted cattle Oldtimer you are the ones that refuse to live by the rules that you think you can force on us. What about our homeland security and the risk your cattle could cause to us. Don't we have the same right to know as the US consumers when it comes to imported product?"

Tam- I asked because I thought maybe you and your matrimonally adopted Canadian nation were really sincere at looking at FREE and FAIR trade- cattle go north and south- instead of the Canadian theory of ride on what the US cattle producer has built-- rather than the BS you try to portray to readers on here--Guess I was wrong :???:

Things would/could be a lot different if Canada hadn't pissed most the border state neighbor ranchs off with their trade restrictions: which started 10+ years ago with the "US cattle are all diseased" trade restrictions, followed by Canadas regs that won't even allow a US border rancher to buy feed grain from his across the border neighbor, to the fact that Canadians can buy up US property and expand ranch's into the US unrestricted, while Canada requires them to be 50+% owned or managed by Canadian citizens-- to the great Crow buyout that took millions of acres of Canadian farmland out of production and paid farmers to put land into cattle production- etc. etc. etc.

You may be able to blow smoke up the rears of the Texans or the Nebraskans about the poor discriminatated against Canadian-- but I'm up here where we see what is happening everyday and really know-- your message to those that actually know whats happening sounds like the preachings of Jessie Jackson blowing in the wind....

Sorry I asked.......

 

[Sandhusker]

Tam, "Sorry R-Calfer have said it though"

One person of a group of 18,000 said something, so it applies to everybody in that group? Come on, Tam.

Tam, "If they spent half as much time working with the rest of the industry as they do taking people to court the industry designed M'ID could have been up and running like it is in Canada and you wouldn't have to worry about backroom dealings ."

You're still not hearing me, Tam. The packers are doing all they can to kill COOL, and it would not require near as much documentation (cost) as M-ID. How are we going to get M-ID if we can't even get COOL?

Tam, "Those decrepancies to you are new rules based on the new science to most other."

That doesn't make sense. What did you say? You somehow try to lay blame on R-CALF that the US's ID system lags much of the world's systems, but you don't seem to have a problem with our import requirements of BSE positive countries being lower than much of the world's as well. You're kind of selective, aren't you?

 

[Bill]

Canadian Tam "Why are you worried about our slaughter capacity and why should we take your BSE tainted cattle Oldtimer you are the ones that refuse to live by the rules that you think you can force on us. What about our homeland security and the risk your cattle could cause to us. Don't we have the same right to know as the US consumers when it comes to imported product?"

Tam- I asked because I thought maybe you and your matrimonally adopted Canadian nation were really sincere at looking at FREE and FAIR trade- cattle go north and south- instead of the Canadian theory of ride on what the US cattle producer has built-- rather than the BS you try to portray to readers on here--Guess I was wrong :???:

Things would/could be a lot different if Canada hadn't p****d most the border state neighbor ranchs off with their trade restrictions: which started 10+ years ago with the "US cattle are all diseased" trade restrictions, followed by Canadas regs that won't even allow a US border rancher to buy feed grain from his across the border neighbor, to the fact that Canadians can buy up US property and expand ranch's into the US unrestricted, while Canada requires them to be 50+% owned or managed by Canadian citizens-- to the great Crow buyout that took millions of acres of Canadian farmland out of production and paid farmers to put land into cattle production- etc. etc. etc.

You may be able to blow smoke up the rears of the Texans or the Nebraskans about the poor discriminatated against Canadian-- but I'm up here where we see what is happening everyday and really know-- your message to those that actually know whats happening sounds like the preachings of Jessie Jackson blowing in the wind....

Sorry I asked.......

Speaking of blowing smoke Oldtimer, could you explain to us what the great Crow buyout was? From your description above it is obvious you have more insight than us Canadians.

 

[PORKER]

SH QUOTES:top ten reasons why Mandatory Country of Origin labeling is a joke. *****Protecting the Status Quo Again !

1. Consumers aren't asking for it.
****** Which POLL did you run?

2. If consumers were asking for it, there is numerous source verified branded beef programs available to them.
*****They Sure are and More everyday How about the biggest one,the J list?

3. The law prohibited the means to enforce it because M COOL proponents didn't want to be burdened with proving what they themselves demanded (where beef was born, raised, and slaughtered). ****** NOT with a Tyson /IBP hack looking in the books.

4. The law exempts 75% of the imports from labeling. ****** Not if the J list laws were followed to Retail.

5. The law would benefit foreign beef at the expense of domestic beef due to the rarity of foreign beef at the meat counter. *****What, You didn't mean Canadain did you?

6. Country of origin labeling will require a traceback mechanism that will add costs to the packing and retail industries that will be passed on to producers in the form of lower cattle prices.***** STAFF answered that quite well.

7. Packers and retailers of all shapes and sizes testified against this law at the "M"COOL listening sessions. *****They Didn't want a money maker to end that fast and besides,they don't care about their customers do they?But Mc Donalds Does!!!

8. Contrary to popular opinion, producers do not know more about selling beef than those who actually sell beef. ****** I have sold beef to the neighbors for years.No complaints there.

9. Canadian beef, which would capture the highest percent of labeled foreign beef, is every bit as good as our best beef. ***** Gosh, My old Canadian bulls offspring still wins shows.

10. Most of the beef imported into the U.S. is lean trimmings from Australia and New Zealand that are ground and blended with our surplus 50/50 trim to add value to it. ****** Can anybody prove it on the shelf in the local grocery?
If this imported beef was not exempt from the current law, a "BLENDED BEEF" label would still offer nothing of value to the consumer.*****Do you think the beef consumer is that DUMB????


MANDATORY COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING, THE CLASSIC CASE OF "SYMBOLISM OVER SUBSTANCE". ^^^^^^^DEPENDS ON THE TRACEBACK !!!!

 

[Econ101]

Canadian Tam "Why are you worried about our slaughter capacity and why should we take your BSE tainted cattle Oldtimer you are the ones that refuse to live by the rules that you think you can force on us. What about our homeland security and the risk your cattle could cause to us. Don't we have the same right to know as the US consumers when it comes to imported product?"

Tam- I asked because I thought maybe you and your matrimonally adopted Canadian nation were really sincere at looking at FREE and FAIR trade- cattle go north and south- instead of the Canadian theory of ride on what the US cattle producer has built-- rather than the BS you try to portray to readers on here--Guess I was wrong :???:

Things would/could be a lot different if Canada hadn't p****d most the border state neighbor ranchs off with their trade restrictions: which started 10+ years ago with the "US cattle are all diseased" trade restrictions, followed by Canadas regs that won't even allow a US border rancher to buy feed grain from his across the border neighbor, to the fact that Canadians can buy up US property and expand ranch's into the US unrestricted, while Canada requires them to be 50+% owned or managed by Canadian citizens-- to the great Crow buyout that took millions of acres of Canadian farmland out of production and paid farmers to put land into cattle production- etc. etc. etc.

You may be able to blow smoke up the rears of the Texans or the Nebraskans about the poor discriminatated against Canadian-- but I'm up here where we see what is happening everyday and really know-- your message to those that actually know whats happening sounds like the preachings of Jessie Jackson blowing in the wind....

Sorry I asked.......

Speaking of blowing smoke Oldtimer, could you explain to us what the great Crow buyout was? From your description above it is obvious you have more insight than us Canadians.

Bill, is this true? Self serving interests are short term gains. Maybe Cebull did know a lot more about the Canadian cattle situation than the appellate court does. There are some pretty big logs in eyes around here on this forum.

 

[Bill]

Canadian Tam "Why are you worried about our slaughter capacity and why should we take your BSE tainted cattle Oldtimer you are the ones that refuse to live by the rules that you think you can force on us. What about our homeland security and the risk your cattle could cause to us. Don't we have the same right to know as the US consumers when it comes to imported product?"

Tam- I asked because I thought maybe you and your matrimonally adopted Canadian nation were really sincere at looking at FREE and FAIR trade- cattle go north and south- instead of the Canadian theory of ride on what the US cattle producer has built-- rather than the BS you try to portray to readers on here--Guess I was wrong :???:

Things would/could be a lot different if Canada hadn't p****d most the border state neighbor ranchs off with their trade restrictions: which started 10+ years ago with the "US cattle are all diseased" trade restrictions, followed by Canadas regs that won't even allow a US border rancher to buy feed grain from his across the border neighbor, to the fact that Canadians can buy up US property and expand ranch's into the US unrestricted, while Canada requires them to be 50+% owned or managed by Canadian citizens-- to the great Crow buyout that took millions of acres of Canadian farmland out of production and paid farmers to put land into cattle production- etc. etc. etc.

You may be able to blow smoke up the rears of the Texans or the Nebraskans about the poor discriminatated against Canadian-- but I'm up here where we see what is happening everyday and really know-- your message to those that actually know whats happening sounds like the preachings of Jessie Jackson blowing in the wind....

Sorry I asked.......

Speaking of blowing smoke Oldtimer, could you explain to us what the great Crow buyout was? From your description above it is obvious you have more insight than us Canadians.

Bill, is this true? Self serving interests are short term gains. Maybe Cebull did know a lot more about the Canadian cattle situation than the appellate court does. There are some pretty big logs in eyes around here on this forum.

Is what true Oldtimer blowing smoke? Yes.

 

[Anonymous]

Sandman: "If you wait for the consumers to demand something, you are already too late."

Nobody is waiting, the free enterprise system offers more than a "generic" country of origin label on commodity beef, THEY OFFER SOURCE VERIFICATION and it didn't require a flawed government mandate.

Sandman: "Wise businessmen think ahead to a product they can sell."

Which is exactly why wise businessmen that actually sell beef realize how worthless country of origin labeling is when 95% of the product they would sell would be U.S. beef.

Consumer: "Gee, what should I buy? The U.S. beef, the U.S. beef, the U.S. beef, the U.S. beef, the U.S. beef, the U.S. beef, the U.S. beef or the U.S. beef?"

Such brilliance!

Sandman: "A perfect example is CAB. Do you remember any consumers asking for any Angus products? Hmmm, seems they stumbled on a selling tool, didn't they?"

Classic apples to oranges comparison. CAB differentiates itself from commodity beef. "M"COOL differentiates itself from 5%. WHOOPDI DO!

If you are to differentiate your product, YOU HAVE TO DIFFERENTIATE AGAINST SOMETHING!

Sandman: "M-COOL can be easily enforced. Remove cattle from the j-list and you know the origin of every animal here. Boxed beef is already labeled, so the work there is done. We can label EVERYTHING very quickly."

Typical R-CULT oversimplification.

USDA has already stated that your "just track the imports" oversimplification" would not be enforceable. Once the hide comes off they all look the same. Without tracing all cattle, anything can become anything. If you listened to the retailers that testified during "M"COOL listening sessions instead of industry blamers that claim to be in the "cattle industry" rather than the beef industry, you would understand the problems in proving where an animal was "BORN, RAISED, AND SLAUGHTERED". Even the most ardent of "M"COOL proponents involved in the discussions of enforcement have acknowledged this oversimplification. Yet you, in your eternal ignorance, still hang on to the old wore out "just mark the imports" cliche. Sounds good to you right?

The only way to determine where a package of beef was "BORN, RAISED, and SLAUGHTERED", which is required by this flawed law, is to trace every animal in and out of the plant to it's origination. What a shame that you oversimplification advocates are not responsible for enforcing this flawed law.

Sandman: "Foreign beef would have an uphill battle for sales when the checkoff funded beef advertising promotes US beef exclusively."

HAHAHA! OK! Whatever you say!

All Canada would have to do is promote the safety and quality of their product or drop their price slightly in comparison to U.S. "COMMODITY" BEEF and you would eat those words.

IF YOU ARE TO DIFFERENTIATE YOUR PRODUCT, YOU HAVE TO DIFFERENTIATE FROM SOMETHING, not 95% vs 5%. What a joke!

Sandman: "Rarity does not automaticly equal desireabilty. How rare is Kangaroo meat in Kadoka? Think you could sell any Kanga-steaks?"

Say no to drugs Randy!

We are not comparing different species, we are comparing the quality differences between countries. The success of New Zealand beef and Argentina grass fed beef has already blown your twisted "theories".

Sandman: "The people selling beef are doing it to make money."

YA THINK?????

Sandman: "They know about making money. If they can make more money selling chicken or kangaroo, they will abandon beef and do just that."

If they could make more money by segregating foreign beef and advertising U.S. beef THEY WOULD ALREADY BE DOING IT. They don't need some wanna be steer jock banker telling them how to market beef.

Sandman: "Why are you so against something that most of the industrialized world has already adopted and can only help cattlemen?"

Why are you so dependant on a flawed government mandate to do what the free enterprise system is already doing BETTER???

Sandman: "Your true colors are questionable."

As if I cared what your opinion of me was? ZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Scoring Systems: "Our cost factor for the packer to retail averages $0.0025 per labeled packaged product for traceback recordkeeping. It's quite CHEAP."

That's only the cost of your tracking system. That doesn't have a damn thing to do with the costs of segregation of cattle or the costs of enforcement.

Nice deception considering the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ in your eyes!


Porker,

Really, is that all you got in response? Good grief!

Depends on the traceback you say? Perhaps you forgot that "M"COOL and it's proponents didn't want to be burdened with a traceback system so specifically prohibited it from "M"COOL. At least with a valid traceback system "M"COOL would have some value from a food safety standpoint. As in most things R-CULT is involved in, the law is worthless. The J-List is nothing more than a "red herring". In order for anyone to prove the origination of a package of beef, there has to be traceback on all cattle entering the plant and all beef leaving the plant. That is a fact. If not, anything can become anything with the switch of a label. The law, as written, is a complete joke and will do nothing but add expense to this industry. SYMBOLISM OVER SUBSTANCE!



~SH~

 

[Sandhusker]

SH, ever hear of a country called Brazil? I'm not talking about nuts or how blind people read. What do you know about Brazil's cattle industry?