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NCBA says COOL has to go

meatcaseFollowing the latest rebuke by the WTO of the U.S. Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) rule, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is renewing its call for COOL to be repealed.

“We have looked at this every way we possibly can and there is no change that the Secretary of Agriculture can make that would bring Country of Origin Labeling in compliance with the WTO,” says Colin Woodall, NCBA’s vice president of government affairs.  “This has to be Congressional fix—and our position is that it’s time to get rid of COOL—we need to repeal it.”

Woodall compares COOL to Prohibition in the 1920’s.

“It may have sounded really good at the beginning.  But when it was implemented, it did not achieve what folks expected it to achieve,” Woodall says. “It was a failed experiment and ultimately it had to be repealed.”

Which is what is happening with COOL, Woodall says.

“It may have sounded good to some people in our industry.  But now, after six years of implementation, it has provided no benefits.  It’s only cost our industry,” he says.  “And now it is threatening our relationship with two of our top five markets—Canada and Mexico—so it’s time to repeal it.”

  • Lets see, we have had droughts before and we have had low cattle numbers since 1996, now since the passage of Country of Origin Labeling passed by congress in 2008 our cattle prices have gone up for producers.. The WTO lawsuit filed by Canada and Mexico were filed with the wrong party.. They should have sued to address what the multinational meat packers are “paying” for their product not the effects of our USA passed COOL law. We never told the packers what to pay for imported product! By the way “the USA doesn’t need the WTO and it’s biased 3 member panel telling the USA what, when and why we should do what they subject us to.. WE are not the dumping ground for imports and without question it payed to take a stand! Keep and make stronger the COOL law and ditch the WTO!

  • Organizations like the NCBA want to ignore the fact that American consumers want to know where the products they are buying are produced – most especially our food. If the NCBA continues to side with the WTO’s goal to destroy our COOL laws, perhaps the public needs to ask why would American farmers, ranchers or industry take this stance – in my opinion it is all about money. Every time I buy a product, I read the label – what’s in it, where does it come from. Yes, I give preference to American made products and why would any American not want to do this? It keeps jobs here in America and we have a better chance of buying a quality product than when purchasing something that has been produced in a foreign country. This certainly includes the animals being imported from other countries that are going into our feedlots and ultimately processed as sold as meat in our grocery stores. Time and again we have seen other countries export inferior products to be marketed in our country, the honey industry is a prime example – why should be the beef industry be any different. We have no control over how an animal was raised in another country before it is imported here! The American public has spoken – we want the COOL laws left alone – so NCBA get over and deal with it!

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