April 3, 2013

Comment favorably on Country-of-Origin Labeling to keep informative meat labels!

While you may have grown accustomed to Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) in the meat and seafood case, recent challenges at the World Trade Organization (WTO) require the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to change how we implement COOL.  Please act now to keep Country-of-Origin Labeling for meat!

To comply with the WTO ruling, the USDA has proposed a regulatory change to COOL that will require meat labels to contain more information. Consumers will be able to tell the country in which the animal’s birth, raising and slaughter took place. USDA is accepting comments on the proposed rule until April 11, 2013.

COMMENT FAVORABLY ON THE COOL RULE:

KEEP MEAT LABELS INFORMATIVE – AND MAKE THEM EVEN MORE SO!

Consumers deserve to know where their meat comes from, and the proposed bill ensures that they will.  Because there are multiple steps in producing meat – birth, raising and slaughter – meat can come from multiple countries. The rule requires the labels to specify in which country each of the production steps occurred.

U.S. farmers and ranchers are proud of what they produce and should be allowed to promote their products.  With the proposed rules, consumers will know when they are eating meat that is born, raised and slaughtered in the US.

Please click here to comment in support of the COOL legislation TODAY. Or you can contact Julie Henderson, Director; USDA, AMS, LPS, COOL Division; 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Room 2620-S; Washington, DC 20250.

Learn more about COOL by reading our COOL Background Summary.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) has been advocating for country-of-origin labeling requirements for agricultural products for decades and NEFU members support it. COOL legislation enables family farms to differentiate their product in ways that are meaningful to consumers.

New England Farmers Union is a member-driven organization committed to enhancing the quality of life for family farmers, fishermen, nurserymen, and their customers through educational opportunities, cooperative endeavors and civic engagement. For more information, see www.newenglandfarmersunion.org