Mandatory country-of-origin-labeling bills for beef and ground beef made it out of committees in Pierre and Cheyenne, but got no further in the farm and ranch friendly South Dakota and Wyoming Legislatures.
Senate Bill 135
Continue Reading
Ranchers look for some traction on country-of-origin labeling
As individual actions, they might not mean much. Collectively, they say Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) is not going away anytime soon.
Two states known for their cowboys, Wyoming and South Dakota, have seen early introduction of
Continue Reading
France begins 2-year test for county-of-origin labeling
A two-year trial period for mandatory country-of-origin labeling is getting underway in France, but it’s not as likely to conflict with international trade rules as the U.S. COOL program did in recent years because it’s
Continue Reading
Will Trump decide that COOL is ‘best for America’?
As a surrogate speaker this past August for then-candidate Donald J. Trump, former Ohio Republican Congressman Bob McEwen gave a fiery speech to a gathering of independent activist cattlemen from 18 states gathered at the
Continue Reading
Letter From the Editor: Spending Trickles Down to Food Safety
They say that confession is good for the soul, so here goes. My confession is that I find most all of the peripheral food issues around food safety pretty boring. I was hoping Congress would
Continue Reading
WTO Authorizes $1 Billion in Retaliatory Tariffs Against COOL
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has authorized Canada and Mexico to charge the U.S. $1 billion in retaliatory tariffs for country-of-origin labeling (COOL) on meat. Last spring, WTO rejected a U.S. appeal of its decision
Continue Reading
Senators Ask Leaders to Repeal COOL Law on Meat to Avoid Retaliatory Tariffs
Five U.S. senators from three states, all Democrats, have let the leadership know that county-of-origin (COOL) meat labeling is not worth a trade war with Canada and Mexico. Led by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the
Continue Reading
USTR Tells WTO That COOL Damages Are Much Lower Than Estimated
Last week, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) filed a legal brief in the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute over mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL), arguing that the $3 billion sought by Canada and Mexico in
Continue Reading
Senators Introduce Bill for Voluntary COOL Label
Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and John Hoeven (R-ND) introduced a bill Thursday that would remove certain meats from the mandatory country-of-origin (COOL) labeling program and institute a voluntary label instead. In May, the World Trade
Continue Reading
Cattle Producer Associations Run From Hot to Cold on COOL
The move in Congress to repeal mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) law for beef, pork and chicken is again turning up the fault lines among the three major organizations that represent American cattle producers. While there
Continue Reading