News

A push to restore mandatory country of origin labeling

Fifty farm and ranch organizations are asking Congress to reintroduce a bill that would restore mandatory country of origin labeling (MCOOL) for beef.

R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard tells Brownfield the American Beef Labeling Act creates certainty for consumers and adds value for producers. “The reason mandatory country of origin labeling is necessary is so competition can be the driving force of where the packers purchase their beef and cattle to satisfy the American consumers’ demand for beef.”

The groups recently sent a letter to U.S. Senate and House members who cosponsored the legislation last year and asks them to reintroduce the bill in the new Congress.

The letter was addressed to the American Beef Labeling Act’s bipartisan group of Senate cosponsors:  Sens. John Thune (R-SD), Jon Tester (D-MT), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Cory Booker (D-NJ), John Hoeven (R-ND), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Barrasso (R-WY), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY); and to its bipartisan group of U.S. Representatives: Reps. Lance Gooden (R-TX), Ro Khanna (D-CA), and Morgan Griffith (R-VA).

He says consumers should support a domestic food supply chain. “The way you do that is to allow the products that US cattle producers are selling in the marketplace to be labeled as their products, and distinguished from among the 20 different countries we import beef from.”

Bullard says the legislation shouldn’t violate USMCA regulations. “We don’t believe that the World Trade Organization would possibly rule today as they did back in 2015.  We are in a new era.  We are changing our position relative to how much oversight we’re going to allow an international tribunal to have over our sovereignty. 

In 2015, the WTO ruled that country of origin labeling unfairly discriminates against meat imports and gives the advantage to domestic meat products.

Groups that joined the letter include: American Economic Liberties Project, American Grassfed Association, Buckeye Quality Beef Association (OH), Campaign for Contract Agriculture Reform, Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment, Cattle Producers of Washington, Coalition for a Prosperous America, Colorado Independent CattleGrowers Association, Consumer Federation of America, Dakota Rural Action, Farm Action Fund, Farm Aid, Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, Food & Water Watch, Government Accountability Project Food Integrity Campaign, Hometown Credit Union in Kulm, ND, Independent Beef Association of North Dakota, Independent Cattlemen of Missouri, Independent Cattlemen of Nebraska, Independent Cattlemen of Wyoming, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, Kansas Cattlemen’s Association, Kansas Farmers Union, Missouri Rural Crisis Center, Montana Cattlemen’s Association, Montana Farmers Union, National Dairy Producers Organization, National Family Farm Coalition, National Farmers Union, National Latino Farmers & Ranchers Trade Association, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, National Women Involved in Farm Economics (WIFE), Nebraska Chapter of WIFE, Nebraska Farmers Union, Northern Plains Resource Council, Oglala Sioux Livestock & Landowners Association, Oklahoma Independent Stockgrowers Association, Organization for Competitive Markets, Pennsylvania Farmers Union, R-CALF USA, Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA, Rural Vermont, South Dakota Stockgrowers Association, Southern Colorado Livestock Association, Stevens County Cattlemen’s Association (WA), Texas Animal Protein Producers Prosperity & Security Group (TAPPPS Group), United Food & Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), United States Cattlemen’s Association, and Western Organization of Resource Councils.