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 here
and 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 letter
to 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.
