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SILVER CITY, N.M. — COOL is still a hot topic

HAY MAKER

Well-known member
N.M. Cattle Growers Renew Call
For Country Of Origin Labeling

SILVER CITY, N.M. — COOL is still a hot topic.

The New Mexico Cattle Growers Association renewed its call for country of origin labeling at the group’s summer convention here.

The association's resolution supporting country of origin labeling, originally passed in 1998, had expired.

"We have been operating under it anyway," says Caren Cowan, NMCGA executive director. "We need to decide if we want to continue this resolution."

The cattle growers called upon Congress to enact legislation requiring that all beef imported into the U.S. for immediate slaughter be labeled as to origin and that all beef sold or used for human consumption in the U.S. bear a visible label clearly stating its country of origin.

The cattle growers’ desires are more stringent than the original legislation proposed by R-CALF. The Montana-based cattlemen's group exempted food service from labeling requirements.

The association wants branded ground beef labeled as to whether it has been blended with foreign meat.

The cattle growers are also calling for an immediate moratorium on all importation of foreign cattle and red meat products until health and safety factors have been thoroughly researched so consumers will have confidence in the safety of the product.

While the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association is expressing its collective desires, there appears to be little movement at the national level.

Cowan says at present, Congress has cut off the money to USDA to implement country of origin labeling.

The delay may be a good thing.

"There's a set of regulations out there that are really terrible regulations," Cowan explains. "If the USDA imposes those regulations, we couldn't live with them at this point. They would allow packers to come in and inspect your records to make sure that what you're giving them is correct.

“While we've supported country of origin labeling, we have not supported any of these moves that would require it to start next month or two months from now, because we've got to get the regulation issues resolved."

She says some in the cattle industry think they'll get it resolved and then fix the regulations.

"They don't work on federal lands," Cowan says of those individuals. "They don't know what happens to you in the regulatory process."
 

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