Posted May 5, 2014
The National Pork Producers Council recently testified before Congress on two issues impacting its industry – country of origin labeling (COOL) and the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), according to an article by the National Hog Farmer available here.
NPPC President Dr. Howard Hill said that the COOL requirement has caused the Canadian pork industry to reduce production and that the outcomes of the trade cases brought by Canada and Mexico at the World Trade Organization (WTO) are expected this summer.
Hill also said that PEDV has already killed 7 million pigs in 30 states since last April. NPPC “is calling on USDA to conduct a thorough investigation on the pathway PEDV and other viruses used to gain entry into the U.S. swine herd, to conduct research on viral propagation of the diseases and to commit more resources to determining pathogenesis of and ways to control the viruses.”
The latest ruling in the ongoing COOL lawsuit, American Meat Institute, et al. v. U.S. Department of Agriculture, was recently vacated by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. The full court will rehear the case, en banc, on May 19.
For more information on Country of Origin Labeling, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
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