Ohio Farmers Union

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NFU: COOL, GIPSA Will Come Under Fire in Appropriations Process

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While the appropriations that routinely wind their way through Congress aren’t supposed to create – or kill – policies already passed in other bills, the National Farmers Union is warning that opponents of Country of Origin Labeling and the Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration will try to harm both COOL and GIPSA by starving them of funding.

NFU President Roger Johnson testified before the US House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Rural Development and Credit. Members of the committee heard from several interested parties on the state of the U.S. livestock industry earlier this week.

Johnson reminded the committee that rural America has lost 34 percent of beef operations and 91 percent of hog farms since 1980 – a total loss of 1.1 million livestock farms. There are also fewer meatpackers and processors. Today, the top four beef packers have control over 81 percent of cattle slaughter in the U.S.,
and the top four swine processors control 65 percent of hog sales.

In meetings sponsored by the Ohio Farmers Union earlier this year, farmers, FSA and state extension officials all seemed to agree that one constraint in promoting a grass-fed beef cooperative in northwestern Ohio is the dearth of independent processing in Ohio. Speakers representing their own successful independent family farm livestock operations and cooperatives told OFU members that attempting to work with the multi-national, market-dominating processors will only lead to total dependence and the potential for ruin if a farmer runs afoul of the system and is essentially black-balled in the Big Ag marketplace.

“Fewer livestock buyers result in less competition, greater opportunity for antitrust violations, and a difficult market for the remaining farmers and ranchers,” said Johnson. “The U.S. Department of Agriculture has the authority to prohibit deceptive or fraudulent buying practices by processors and may protect farmers and ranchers if they have been harmed by unfair trade practices, but appropriations riders over the last three years have kept USDA from implementing these basic fairness rules. Future riders that impede enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act must be defeated,” Johnson said.

On COOL, Johnson told the committee, “I commend Congress for maintaining (COOL) standards in the 2014 Farm Bill. Consumers want to know more about the food they purchase, while U.S. farmers and ranchers are proud of what they produce.”

“NFU strongly opposes the use of an appropriations rider or other legislative vehicle to deny consumers access to information about their food.”

Read NFU’s Entire Testimony – Lots of Great Info

 

 

Federal Appeals Court Cool with COOL

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Two Federal Courts Have Now Swatted Down Big Biz Attempts to Thwart COOL

In another victory for independent and family U.S. livestock farmers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has rejected an appeal from an earlier district court ruling against plaintiffs in a suit to suspend  Country of Origin Labeling regulations while the plaintiff’s larger suit against COOL moves through the judicial system.

Last Friday’s decision is the latest setback for plaintiffs who filed the case in an effort to have the revised COOL regulations invalidated. The case was filed on July 8, 2013, by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, American Meat Institute, Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, Canadian Pork Council, North American Meat Association, American Association of Meat Processors, National Pork Producers Council, Southwest Meat Association and Mexico’s National Confederation of Livestock Organizations.

While that larger case is being adjudicated, plaintiffs have sought an injunction which would have prevented existing COOL regulations from remaining in effect. For now, COOL stands.

The National Farmers Union, together with the United States Cattlemen’s Association, the American Sheep Industry Association and the Consumer Federation of America, intervened to defend the COOL regulations from challenge, and they actively participated in a briefing at the District Court and the Court of Appeals, as well as the preliminary injunction hearing at the District Court.

“I am extremely pleased with today’s decision,” said Roger Johnson, NFU president. “Yet again, claims that the revised COOL regulations are unconstitutional or inconsistent with the COOL statute have been rejected in federal court.”

“Today’s decision notes that COOL advances legitimate values, including consumer information and consumer choice. The Court of Appeals also explained that COOL labels can be seen as a sign that retailers ‘take pride in identifying the source of their products.’ NFU’s family farmer- and rancher-members certainly take pride in the products they produce, and I am glad that consumers will be able to continue to identify their products at retail as a result of today’s decision.”

Johnson is currently in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at the World Farmers Organization’s fourth general assembly, where many of the speakers have discussed the need for farmers to connect more directly with consumers and be more transparent to enhance consumer confidence.

Johnson said NFU will remain engaged with its allies in the courtroom battles over COOL on behalf family farmers and consumers.

 

 

 

Busting Myths About COOL

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coolartThe huge, multi-national packers and processors and their apologists at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association continue to spread disinformation about Country of Origin Labeling (COOL).

Since the USDA issued its newer, World Trade Organization-compliant COOL requirement here in the U.S., several allies of the industrial livestock industry led by Canada and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Assoc. have filed suit to stop COOL. They are also working behind the scenes in Congress at every opportunity – and further muddying the waters in Farm Bill negotiations – to rollback COOL.

The National and Ohio Farmers Unions support COOL and Americans’ right to know from where their center of their plate originates. The fact is, U.S. food safety standards from farm to grocery store shelf instill confidence in American consumers. We have the right to know if our meat was processed or raised in China or another country where regulations are weak. Many consumers also want to make the economic choice to buy only U.S. raised and processed foods. Without COOL, they are missing an important decision-making tool.

Here are a few facts about COOL that counter some of the arguments being made in opponents’ anti-consumer (and anti-American) campaign:

  • The U.S. never conceded to the WTO before being directed to do so by a dispute panel.
  • Changing COOL at this time in the middle of a court case would be letting Canada tell us whether or not U.S. laws are WTO compliant. Sovereignty anyone?

[Read more…]

Consumer Orgs to Congress: Hands Off COOL in Farm Bill

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consumergroups640U.S. national consumer rights and protection groups have sent a letter to Farm Bill conference committee members in Congress urging them to defend Country of Origin Labeling rules and to beat back attempts by big business to change COOL.

“We appreciate the support of our allied organizations named in the letter,” said National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson. “Consumers have called for the information provided by COOL for some time and it is our responsibility as an industry to meet those demands.”

The Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, Food and Water Watch, National Consumers League, and Public Citizen signed the letter. The letter cites survey results released in May 2013 by the Consumer Federation of America that showed that 90 percent of Americans believe they have the right to know the country of origin of the fresh meat they purchase. A 2008 poll from Consumers Union found that that 95 percent of U.S. adults agreed that Country-of-Origin Labeling for products should always be available at the point of purchase.

Click this link to read the letter.

 

COOL Mythbusting

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from the National Farmers Union

There’s a lot of misinformation about COOL being spread by our packer- and processor-opponents. Below are the facts about COOL that you can use as talking points when talking with members of Congress, your friends and neighbors, or the media:

  • The United States has never conceded to the WTO before being directed to do so by a dispute panel.
  • Changing the COOL law at this time, in the middle of an appeal, would be letting Canada tell us whether or not our laws are WTO-compliant, raising a major sovereignty issue.
  • We should take a line from Canada – they fought the United States’ softwood lumber trade dispute for 24 years without giving in until WTO forced them to do so.
  • Repealing the COOL law would affect more than meat and poultry. COOL requirements apply to muscle cuts of beef, lamb, pork, goat and chicken; ground beef, ground lamb, ground pork, ground goat and ground chicken; farm-raised fish and shellfish; wild fish and shellfish; perishable agricultural commodities (like fruits and vegetables); peanuts; ginseng, pecans and macadamia nuts.
  •   [Read more…]

More on Protecting COOL and Our Legal Defense Fund

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The National Farmers Union along with others has intervened in the legal battle over Country of Origin Labeling on behalf the USDA’s efforts to implement the U.S. farmer and rancher (and consumer) friendly measure. The cost to be incurred for defending COOL is expected to run to $300,000 for the those supporting the USDA.

OFU President Roger Wise received this letter from Roger Johnson on Friday. As you may know, Johnson is president of the National Farmers Union. If you want the latest details and the reason for a legal defense fund, read the letter by following the previous link.

The most important thing you can do today is head over to the U.S. Cool Defense Fund and make a contribution. Any amount will help keep NFU and our allies in the fight.

COOL Remains Under Fire But You Can Help Defend It

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The National Farmers Union along with several other consumer and farm groups have started a legal defense fund to help defray the costs of defending U.S. Country of Origin Labeling rules from a lawsuit recently filed by several corporate agriculture interests.

Initial estimates for the cost of joining the lawsuit in defense of USDA and COOL ranged from $150,000 to $200,000, but due to legal maneuvers by the plaintiffs, some estimates are reaching the $300,000 range.

NFU has partnered with U.S. Cattlemen’s Assoc., American Sheep Industry Assoc. and Consumer Federation of America to defend COOL against the National Cattlemen’s Beef Assoc., National Pork Producers and the American Meat Institute among other ‘Big Ag’ interests. The defenders of COOL recently won a preliminary victory when the court ruled against a move by plaintiffs to block implementing COOL rules while the lawsuit is being adjudicated.

NFU will be on the hook for its fair share of the final costs of defending COOL in court. OFU and NFU leadership are asking you to consider visiting www.uscooldefensefund.org today and making a donation to the legal defense fund set up by NFU and its partners.

COOL Appeal Another Attempt to Block Consumers’ Right to Know

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National Farmers Union  President Roger Johnson issued the following statement upon receiving confirmation that the American Meat Institute and other packer-producer organizations will appeal the denial of their preliminary injunction request in the Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) lawsuit:

“NFU, and our allied consumer and producer organizations, intervened at the District Court to protect the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) modified COOL regulation. The judge issued a very well reasoned opinion yesterday and, as a result, NFU will actively participate in the appeal process to defend the district court’s denial of the preliminary injunction motion.

“As we have said many times, the American consumer has a right to know where their meat is from and U.S. livestock producers are proud of what they produce. The new COOL rule issued by USDA in May significantly improves the information available to consumers by reducing confusion about the origins of meat products, and provides U.S. livestock producers the opportunity to differentiate their product.”

 

Court’s Ruling in COOL Injunction Positive Says NFU

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National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson issued the following statement after the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia today denied plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction that, if granted, would have blocked the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from implementing and enforcing its revised Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) regulations until a lawsuit filed July 8 is concluded.

“The judge’s ruling to deny the injunction on COOL regulations continues to reinforce NFU’s positive position on COOL. We have long supported COOL and the consumer’s desire to know where their food comes from. We are pleased that the packer-producer organizations and foreign interests’ attempts to thwart COOL have been denied. We are committed to defending COOL and will continue to do so throughout this legal process.

[Read more…]

OFU’s Wise Leads Ohio Delegation to Capitol Hill This Week

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Roger Wise

Roger Wise

Ohio Farmers Union president Roger Wise of Fremont and the board of directors of the National Farmers Union unanimously passed a resolution over the weekend indicating the obligation of Congress to pass a five-year farm bill, continue support for Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

Wise and the other NFU state presidents are in Washington, D.C. with rank and file Farmers Union members to lobby members of Congress with the leadership and staff of NFU early this week.

“As a member of the NFU Board of Directors, I voted to support the resolution to show the Ohio Farmers Union’s unflagging support for a new Farm Bill and for Congress to continue support for COOL and the Renewable Fuel Standard,” Wise said.

“The fact that the Farm Bill has become an object of partisanship and has been mired in the House for two years – held hostage by a group of extremists – is a prime example of our broken political process in Washington,” Wise added.

“I’m here again with my colleagues from around Ohio and the country to simply ask for reason and a willingness to work together for compromise that allows agriculture in America to move forward with a bill like that passed by the Senate which contains deficit reduction, contains reforms and has farmers with more skin in the game as it pertains to the safety net,” Wise added.

[Read more…]

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