Posted October 8, 2014
On Monday, a group of 32 U.S. Senators urged Sen. Barbara Mikulski and Richard Shelby to ensure legislation that would eliminate Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) is not included in fiscal year 2015, according to a Farm Futures article by Janell Thomas available here. KEVN also published an article hereand Food Safety News here.
COOL provides consumers with trustworthy information regarding the origin of meat by labeling the country in which the animal was born, raised, and slaughtered.
Thirty-two senators have written a letterto leaders of the Appropriations Committee requesting that they delay the COOL rule until the trade dispute between Canada and Mexico has resolved, according to Food Safety News.
“As the Senate debates how to provide funding for the federal government for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2015, we urge you to reject efforts to weaken or suspend [COOL] through any continuing resolution or omnibus appropriations bill,” wrote the signatories, who include Senators Jon Tester (D-MT) and Mike Enzi (R-WY).
The letter also states that it is “critical that Congress not short–circuit ongoing efforts to support American producers and consumers,” according to KEVN.
The Senators also noted that efforts to undermine the COOL rule before completion of the World Trade Organization (WTO) process would “disadvantage American producers and roll-back the transparency within out meat markets,” according to Farm Futures.
COOL supporters have suggested that if the rule is upheld, it will continue to put a burden on the packing industry and put pressure on trade relations with both Canada and Mexico.
For more information on Country of Origin Labeling, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
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