A
Anonymous
Guest
November 23, 2005
Cattle Producers Praise House Efforts
to Restore Mandatory COOL
(Billings, Mont.) – This Thanksgiving, American cattle producers will have another item to be grateful for as several bipartisan representatives in Congress announced H.R.4365, legislation that would keep in place the Mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling (M-COOL) law originally passed in the 2002 Farm Bill. The bill amends the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to implement M-COOL requirements for meat on Sept. 30, 2006, and now goes to the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Agriculture for review.
U.S. Rep. Mary Bono, R-Calif., and her colleague Rep. Darlene Hooley, D-Ore., introduced the bill. Co-sponsors of H.R. 4365 are: Rep. Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo.; Rep. Stephanie Herseth, D-S.D.; Rep. Joel Hefley, R-Colo.; Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio; Rep. Denny Rehburg, R-Mont.; and, Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fla.
"We want our friends in the House to know how much U.S. cattle producers appreciate their efforts to keep M-COOL alive not only for the cattle industry, but also for U.S. consumers who've consistently expressed their desire for such a program," said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard. "Having this kind of support from such a broad, bipartisan group proves the worth of the program, and we're extremely proud that these representatives will stand up in opposition to the recent back-door dealings of the Agriculture Appropriations Committee that secretly delayed Mandatory COOL until 2008.
"We are disappointed in the handful of congressional members who have used their official positions to block the implementation of this important legislation in order to satisfy their personal agendas," Bullard continued. "However, the COOL law was passed because of the efforts of hundreds of diverse groups representing cattle, farm, rural and consumer organizations that together represent over 50 million Americans. These groups came together to bring the U.S. out of the dark ages with respect to food labeling.
"Of the 57 countries the United States trades with, the U.S. remains one of the few modern countries that refuse to provide its citizens with information about the origin of the food they purchase," Bullard explained. "Without COOL, importers and retailers continue to sell imported food products that sometimes mislead U.S. consumers into believing they're purchasing domestic products. In some instances, other countries have gone so far as to ban these very items because they know these items are not of USA origin.
"We are amazed that the same legislators and groups that object to informing consumers about where their food comes from – on the grounds that a labeling program is too difficult and costly to differentiate imported food from domestic food – are the very same individuals and groups that want to subject U.S. cattle producers to the costs of a mandatory animal identification program for every food animal in the United States, without even knowing what those costs are and how those expenses would impact producers," Bullard emphasized.
"These positions are inconsistent and show that opponents of COOL are only trying to fulfill their economic self-interests at the expense of U.S. cattle producers and U.S. consumers," said Bullard. "Compared to a national animal identification system, the cost and logistics of COOL are negligible, and the program can immediately be implemented at no cost to U.S. cattle producers.
"The government already is required to permanently mark all the Mexican cattle entering the United States in order to monitor the tuberculosis associated with these cattle, and no Canadian cattle have entered the U.S. since May of 2003 without a permanent foreign brand," Bullard explained. "Therefore, under an effective M-COOL system, all the cattle in the U.S. under 30 months old that do not have a foreign marking could be nothing other than born-and-raised in the United States, and would be eligible for the USA label. The origins of all older animals could be verified with a simple producer affidavit.
"All foreign cattle can now be identified by their foreign markings, and the beef from these cattle could easily be labeled according to those marks," he continued. "This no-cost method of verifying the origins of live cattle is called 'presumption of domestic origin,' and is precisely what Congress intended when it directed the United States Department of Agriculture to use the National School Lunch Act as a model for verifying origin."
R-CALF USA Director of Government Relations Jess Peterson explained that this particular legislation from the house reflects exactly the recent bipartisan legislation proposed in the senate by Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont. and Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., (S 2038).
"It's important that opponents of COOL know and understand that this is an issue we're still winning, and they shouldn't think this fight is over by any means," said R-CALF USA Director of Government Relations Jess Peterson. "R-CALF will see to it that Mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling takes effect next September – for the benefit of our members and for the benefit of U.S. beef consumers who want to make informed decisions about the beef their families choose to eat.
"U.S. cow/calf producers and other independent segments of the cattle industry know that Mandatory COOL is a critical tool that will allow them to differentiate their beef products from imported products," Peterson noted. "And, M-COOL will also provide complete transparency in the marketplace, with the result that we'll finally know without a doubt the true value of USA Beef, which always has been the safest and most wholesome beef in the world."
# # #
R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on domestic and international trade and marketing issues. R-CALF USA, a national, non-profit organization, is dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA's membership consists primarily of cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and feedlot owners. Its members – over 18,000 strong – are located in 47 states, and the organization has over 60 local and state association affiliates, from both cattle and farm organizations. Various main street businesses are associate members of R-CALF USA. For more information, visit www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.
Cattle Producers Praise House Efforts
to Restore Mandatory COOL
(Billings, Mont.) – This Thanksgiving, American cattle producers will have another item to be grateful for as several bipartisan representatives in Congress announced H.R.4365, legislation that would keep in place the Mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling (M-COOL) law originally passed in the 2002 Farm Bill. The bill amends the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to implement M-COOL requirements for meat on Sept. 30, 2006, and now goes to the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Agriculture for review.
U.S. Rep. Mary Bono, R-Calif., and her colleague Rep. Darlene Hooley, D-Ore., introduced the bill. Co-sponsors of H.R. 4365 are: Rep. Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo.; Rep. Stephanie Herseth, D-S.D.; Rep. Joel Hefley, R-Colo.; Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio; Rep. Denny Rehburg, R-Mont.; and, Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fla.
"We want our friends in the House to know how much U.S. cattle producers appreciate their efforts to keep M-COOL alive not only for the cattle industry, but also for U.S. consumers who've consistently expressed their desire for such a program," said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard. "Having this kind of support from such a broad, bipartisan group proves the worth of the program, and we're extremely proud that these representatives will stand up in opposition to the recent back-door dealings of the Agriculture Appropriations Committee that secretly delayed Mandatory COOL until 2008.
"We are disappointed in the handful of congressional members who have used their official positions to block the implementation of this important legislation in order to satisfy their personal agendas," Bullard continued. "However, the COOL law was passed because of the efforts of hundreds of diverse groups representing cattle, farm, rural and consumer organizations that together represent over 50 million Americans. These groups came together to bring the U.S. out of the dark ages with respect to food labeling.
"Of the 57 countries the United States trades with, the U.S. remains one of the few modern countries that refuse to provide its citizens with information about the origin of the food they purchase," Bullard explained. "Without COOL, importers and retailers continue to sell imported food products that sometimes mislead U.S. consumers into believing they're purchasing domestic products. In some instances, other countries have gone so far as to ban these very items because they know these items are not of USA origin.
"We are amazed that the same legislators and groups that object to informing consumers about where their food comes from – on the grounds that a labeling program is too difficult and costly to differentiate imported food from domestic food – are the very same individuals and groups that want to subject U.S. cattle producers to the costs of a mandatory animal identification program for every food animal in the United States, without even knowing what those costs are and how those expenses would impact producers," Bullard emphasized.
"These positions are inconsistent and show that opponents of COOL are only trying to fulfill their economic self-interests at the expense of U.S. cattle producers and U.S. consumers," said Bullard. "Compared to a national animal identification system, the cost and logistics of COOL are negligible, and the program can immediately be implemented at no cost to U.S. cattle producers.
"The government already is required to permanently mark all the Mexican cattle entering the United States in order to monitor the tuberculosis associated with these cattle, and no Canadian cattle have entered the U.S. since May of 2003 without a permanent foreign brand," Bullard explained. "Therefore, under an effective M-COOL system, all the cattle in the U.S. under 30 months old that do not have a foreign marking could be nothing other than born-and-raised in the United States, and would be eligible for the USA label. The origins of all older animals could be verified with a simple producer affidavit.
"All foreign cattle can now be identified by their foreign markings, and the beef from these cattle could easily be labeled according to those marks," he continued. "This no-cost method of verifying the origins of live cattle is called 'presumption of domestic origin,' and is precisely what Congress intended when it directed the United States Department of Agriculture to use the National School Lunch Act as a model for verifying origin."
R-CALF USA Director of Government Relations Jess Peterson explained that this particular legislation from the house reflects exactly the recent bipartisan legislation proposed in the senate by Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont. and Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., (S 2038).
"It's important that opponents of COOL know and understand that this is an issue we're still winning, and they shouldn't think this fight is over by any means," said R-CALF USA Director of Government Relations Jess Peterson. "R-CALF will see to it that Mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling takes effect next September – for the benefit of our members and for the benefit of U.S. beef consumers who want to make informed decisions about the beef their families choose to eat.
"U.S. cow/calf producers and other independent segments of the cattle industry know that Mandatory COOL is a critical tool that will allow them to differentiate their beef products from imported products," Peterson noted. "And, M-COOL will also provide complete transparency in the marketplace, with the result that we'll finally know without a doubt the true value of USA Beef, which always has been the safest and most wholesome beef in the world."
# # #
R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on domestic and international trade and marketing issues. R-CALF USA, a national, non-profit organization, is dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA's membership consists primarily of cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and feedlot owners. Its members – over 18,000 strong – are located in 47 states, and the organization has over 60 local and state association affiliates, from both cattle and farm organizations. Various main street businesses are associate members of R-CALF USA. For more information, visit www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.
