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COOL is subject of Senate Ag Committee hearing

Sharply differing viewpoints on country-of-origin labeling were aired Thursday at a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing.

Among those testifying was Barry Carpenter, CEO of the North American Meat Institute.

“Let’s be candid.  The most vocal proponents of COOL for livestock have a single objective—to block the importation of livestock from our neighbors,” Carpenter said. “The law has never been about distinguishing meat products in the market.  It’s simply a protectionist measure intended to exclude Canadian and Mexican livestock from the U.S. market.”

Leo McDonnell, executive officer with the United States Cattlemen’s Association, took exception with that statement.

“I take a little offense to having people call COOL a protectionist act—because nothing is protectionist about it,” McDonnell said. “We do it on 90 percent of the other products we bring into the United States.”

In his testimony, Craig Hill, president of the Iowa Farm Bureau, said that while Farm Bureau policy supports country-of-origin labeling that meets WTO requirements, it’s obvious the current law does not meet that standard.  Hill says COOL must be repealed.

“It is clear now that it’s time to act—time to prevent Canada and Mexico from imposing retaliatory sanctions that will negatively impact U.S. agriculture and other goods and commodities,” Hill said.

The House has passed legislation to repeal COOL.  The Senate has yet to act.

AUDIO: First 40 minutes of the Senate Ag Committee’s COOL hearing on 6/25/15