Ohio Farmers Union

Serving Family Farmers and Consumers Since 1934



United to Grow Family Agriculture Since 1934

  • About
    • The Farmers Union Triangle
    • Vision
    • OFU Leadership
  • Issues
    • 2020 Virtual Lobby Days
    • OFU Policy & NFU Policy
    • 2019 Lobby Day Registration
    • Get Involved!
    • NFU Climate Leaders
  • Education
    • 2019 OFU Essay Contest
    • Ohio Farmers Union Scholarships
    • Farm Safety
    • Renewable Energy Curriculum
  • Insurance
    • Hastings Mutual Insurance Co.
    • Health & Other Offerings
    • Ohio BWC Group Coverage
  • Join Us
    • Member Benefits
    • Insurance
  • Blog

NFU: WTO’s Ruling Shows USDA Headed in Right Direction

October 24, 2014 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

Share
Share on Google Plus
Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this

National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson said that the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) recent ruling on Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) clearly shows U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is headed in right direction.

“This ruling demonstrates the legitimate nature of the COOL objective and finds that the current labeling rule is an improvement over the original rule, but it remains unbalanced between consumer information and production costs,” said Johnson. “This decision, as it has been issued, will likely be modified on appeal and NFU strongly urges USTR to appeal the ruling.”

Johnson moderated the panel discussion, and was also joined Danni Beer, president of U.S. Cattleman’s Association, Patrick Woodall, research director at Food & Water Watch, and Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, to discuss the details and implications of the WTO ruling.

On Monday, the WTO released the long-awaited, 200-plus page ruling that found the regulatory goal of COOL was WTO-compliant, and that the new 2013 labels provided better, more accurate information for consumers.


“The ruling gives USDA and USTR the opportunity to redefine the rule without the need for Congress to get involved,” said Johnson. “There may well be a more clear way to define ‘born, raised, slaughtered’ such that it cleans up the confusion which was in the decision.”

Johnson also offered the inclusion of value-added meat in the rule in order to make it WTO-compliant. “By rule, we could include a number of value-added meat products that heretofore, have not been included,” said Johnson. “The WTO decision says that essentially the costs side that the producers have to bear are more than the benefit side that the consumers get… To the extent that you can increase the amount of the product that is labeled, you nullify that argument.”

Johnson also discredited the economic issues raised by COOL opponents. He noted that the U.S. was heading into a recession, the U.S.-Canadian dollar exchange rate dramatically changed, and energy costs were starting to skyrocket. All of this caused a decrease in imports, not just across Canada and Mexico, but for all countries and commodities.

“There is a very strong conviction among all of us that the COOL statute needs to remain in place. The WTO, in all of the decisions that have been rendered on this case so far, have always said the law is ok. We have a right to do this.”

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: COOL, NFU, WTO

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • YouTube

Latest News from the Ohio & National Farmers Union

National Farmers Union Week of Action for Strong Farm Bill

National Farmers Union (NFU) today concluded the Week of Action that gathered more than 100 farmers from across the country to the halls of Congress … Read More

How Do Tariffs Affect Family Farms?

A Talk in Kent, Ohio with Ohio Farmers Union and Others Have you noticed the price of eggs? Who hasn’t! How do government actions and tariffs … Read More

NFU Praises Sale of E15 Through Summer

National Farmers Union (NFU) applauds the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) emergency fuel waiver allowing nationwide sale of E15 gasoline … Read More

Farmers Union Supports Congressional Oversight of Trade and Tariffs

National Farmers Union (NFU) today sent a letter to the U.S. House and Senate, urging lawmakers to support the Trade Review Act of … Read More

Check Out the Entire Blog

NATIONAL FARMERS UNION

Click to Take Action



Contact

Ohio Farmers Union
P.O. Box 363
1011 N. Defiance Street
Ottawa, Ohio 45875
Phone: (419) 523-5300
Toll Free: (800) 321-3671

Copyright Ohio Farmers Union© 2025 | Site by: RCS Communications