Trade Groups Say COOL Meat Labeling Should Return in Place of Smaller Legislative Fixes

Legislative efforts to prevent improper use of “Product of U.S.A.” labeling for imported meats instead create new issues and should be replaced by a mandatory country-of-origin labeling bill, the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund and other trade groups said in a Dec. 9 letter to South Dakota Senate Republicans Mike Rounds and John Thune. The groups said that the U.S. Beef Integrity Act (S. 2744), which limits such labeling to “cattle exclusively born, raised, and slaughtered” in the U.S, doesn't go far enough. “Attempting to correct this single problem with stand-alone legislation, rather than reinstating mandatory COOL in its entirety, will unnecessarily complicate the efforts of U.S. cattle and hog farmers who desire to have their exclusively U.S.-produced beef and pork differentiated in America’s consumer market,” the trade group said.

One specific problem that the legislation would cause is “that it would create an inconsistent standard with chicken and lamb,” which are still subject to COOL requirements, it said. “Thus, providing a statutory change to what constitutes a 'Product of USA' beef or pork product would conflict with the statutory system already in place for meat products such as chicken and lamb. It would be less confusing for consumers, as well as better for American ranchers, for beef and pork to be reinstated under the COOL labeling system already in place for these other meats.”

The World Trade Organization has ruled at multiple levels that COOL labeling was improper (see 1505180018). The Coalition for a Prosperous America, which signed the letter, said in a news release that the WTO's actions were a “case of judicial activism.” CPA said the “WTO agreement does not prohibit labeling, but the WTO judges did not merely interpret the agreement but created new law,” which is “another reason the WTO may not be worth saving.“ The WTO's authority has been cut back recently due to the U.S. blocking appellate body nominations (see 1912090031).