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.
