Country of Origin Labeling

Read Joe Logan’s Op-Ed on Voluntary COOL Compromise

August 21, 2015 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

Editor’s Note: OFU President Joe Logan penned this op-ed for the Cincinnati Enquirer. It’s online and ran in print edition.

Today’s consumer goods are sourced from around the world and quality can vary greatly, so naturally, folks want to know the origin of their food. This is not only common sense, but is supported by a decade’s worth of polling.

And this isn’t simply an American phenomenon. European consumers demanded food labeling after they found out that the “beef” they were consuming was actually imported, mislabeled horse meat. Congress recognized the consumer demand for food labeling and passed a popular labeling law known as Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) in 2008.

COOL simply says that muscle cuts of meat, and some fruits and vegetables, must be labeled with the name of the country where the product was produced and processed. Unfortunately, common sense doesn’t always win the day, so our popular labeling law has been challenged in federal court by the multinational meat packers. Failing there, our chief trade competitors – Canada and Mexico – filed an official dispute, claiming severe economic harm, at the World Trade Organization. In response to fears of economic retaliation being considered by the WTO, the U.S. House of Representatives repealed the law and the fate of COOL is now in the hands of the U.S. Senate.

Your favorite shirt, your winter coat, your kitchen appliances and the replacement parts for your car are all labeled with their country of origin, so why shouldn’t your food be? According to a decade’s worth of polling on this issue, roughly 90 percent of the nation’s consumers support food labeling.

It’s just common sense that parents want to know as much as possible about what they are putting into their mouths, and the mouths of their children. Some consumers want to eat locally, purchasing Ohio sweet corn – the best corn in the world – while others don’t care if their corn comes from Ohio, Ottawa, or Oaxaca. But regardless of what they want, they can’t make that targeted distinction if the food isn’t labeled.

The notion of shopping local or buying American is very popular among many consumers, who see the value of spending their hard-earned incomes close to home, supporting their local farmers and rural economies. But it can only happen if the food is labeled.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio has stood strong against the notion of repealing the COOL law and is working on compromise solution in the Senate. His alternative would retain the framework of the COOL law, while bringing it into WTO compliance by making COOL voluntary for beef and pork. This should not only appease the objections of our trading partners, given Canada has a voluntary labeling program on the books, but also give consumers who want to support their local farmers the option to do so.

Additionally, Canada and Mexico both suggested the adoption of a voluntary system in the 2012 WTO Appellate Body Report, and the U.S. trade representative’s office also noted that repealing the mandatory requirement and replacing it with a voluntary system has the “potential to constitute compliance with U.S. WTO obligations.” That gives voluntary COOL the “thumbs up” from every corner.

And while Ohio Farmers Union has fought for mandatory labeling for years, this bill would avoid the current lobbyist-driven call for a complete repeal and ensure that the framework for accurate food labeling remains on the books. It’s a far better option than complete repeal of COOL.

When you throw some meat on the grill this weekend, think about how and where that food was produced and processed. Let Brown know that you support his efforts, and urge Sen. Rob Portman to support food labeling, as well.

COOL Update – NFU Adjusting Its Stance to Preserve a Semblance of Program

July 30, 2015 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-IA, told an Iowa TV station last night that essentially there are two competing bills in the Senate regarding COOL, the Roberts full repeal and a bill that would replace the current mandatory COOL program with a voluntary program.

That brings us to today and a practical policy shift from the Ohio and National Farmers Union. I use the word shift, because ultimately what Farmers Union stands for is mandatory COOL. Picking the best of two bad options, Farmers Union is backing a bipartisan compromise bill being advanced by two key U.S. Senators and backed by our own Sen. Sherrod Brown.

Called the Voluntary Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) Act of 2015, the bill would allow the U.S. to avoid retaliatory tariffs by repealing the mandatory COOL law and replacing it with a voluntary program that will enable processors to voluntarily label meat products. The new COOL law would maintain the integrity of the label, ensuring that the product is actually “born, raised and slaughtered in the United States,” rather than just processed in the U.S. The bill is also known as the Stabenow-Hoeven bill for its sponsors, Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-MI and Sen. John Hoeven, R-ND.

We are asking that our members adjust their own advocacy for COOL to reflect Farmers Union support for the Staebenow-Hoeven bill. We understand that this represents a change none of us is happy about, but we are even less happy about the prospect of losing COOL entirely. Remember, we’ve already lost in the House.

[Read more…]

New Study: U.S. Consumers Prefer Meat Labeled From U.S.

July 16, 2015 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson lauded today’s release of a University of Arkansas study that found U.S. consumers prefer meat from the U.S. when provided with a country-of-origin label, and urged Congress to respect consumers’ right to know where their food comes from by rejecting efforts to repeal Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL).

“Opponents of COOL have argued that it has no impact on consumers’ purchasing decisions,” said Johnson. “This study clearly shows the opposite: that consumers use COOL to draw inferences related to a food product’s safety, taste and freshness. NFU urges Congress to reject efforts to repeal the popular labeling law and instead focus on finding a solution to the recent World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute that maintains the integrity of COOL and continues to provide consumers with information they use to make informed decisions about what they eat.”

The study, authored by University of Arkansas marketing researchers, found that COOL provides consumers with additional information that has both direct and indirect effects on purchasing decisions.

“The (COOL) requirement impacts inferred attributes, such that meat products from the U.S are perceived to be safer, tastier, and fresher than meat products from Mexico,” notes the study. “These attribute inferences, in turn, have differentially positive effects on purchase intentions.”

Johnson noted that the U.S. Senate will soon weigh its options for meeting WTO obligations, and urged senators to ensure consumers maintain the ability to distinguish where their food comes from through a national country-of-origin labeling standard.

“As the Senate searches for a path forward for COOL, we urge them to consider this new study that clearly shows U.S. consumers care where their food comes from and that they use COOL to determine where it comes from,” he said.

OFU Urges Senate to “Chill” on COOL

June 12, 2015 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

Americans Want to Know Where Their Food Comes From

COLUMBUS – Ohio’s second largest general farm organization leveled a broadside at members of Congress who voted this past week to repeal Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) requirements for beef, pork and poultry in the United States.

“In an era where food travels around the world indiscriminately, is there a mother in this country, when asked, who would say they don’t care to know where their food comes from?” asked Joe Logan, president of the Ohio Farmers Union.

“Does the chicken they’re putting on the grill tonight come from U.S. producers – with all of their health and safety regs – or does it come from China where health, safety and environmental regulations are an after-thought?”

Logan said OFU and the National Farmers Union have backed COOL since before it was enacted in the 2002 Farm Bill. He said that globalization and the opening of markets made it a necessity for U.S. consumers to know where their food comes from because many other countries don’t have the food safety regulations protecting U.S. consumers.

Logan said that much of U.S. meat production and processing have come under the control of foreign corporations, and American consumers need to be vigilant. The current largest pork processor in the U.S. is Chinese-owned and the second-largest beef processor in the U.S. is Brazilian company JBS.

Late Thursday night, Congressional supporters of these huge, multi-national corporations used a recent World Trade Organization ruling as an excuse to push a repeal of COOL through the GOP-controlled House of Representatives.

“The WTO process is not over regarding COOL,” said Logan. “The U.S. has ample time and the administration has signaled it would continue to work with Canada and Mexico on fair and honest labeling requirements in this country.”

“Basically, corporate interests and big money won out this week in Washington – consumers and independent family farmers lost big time,” Logan said.

Logan hopes that the U.S. Senate ignores the House bill.

Logan said that the vote to repeal COOL is important enough for every Ohioan to know where their member of Congress stands when it comes to knowing where their food comes from.

Unless your member of Congress was Joyce Beatty, Marcy Kaptur or Tim Ryan, if you live in Ohio your member voted to take away your right to know where your food comes from.

“In a global economy, information about the foods we eat is essential,” Logan said. “It’s unfathomable how a representative of the people could vote against that.”

Editor’s Note:

Here are a couple of noteworthy links on the background of this issue:

The most recent consumer poll results are available here: http://www.consumerfed.org/pdfs/COOL-poll-results-May-2013.pdf
The Robert Taylor study can be found here: http://www.nfu.org/images/COOLReport1132015Final.pdf

You’ll find in the poll that Americans, when asked, overwhelmingly favor knowing where their meat comes from. You’ll see in the Prof. Robert Taylor study that Canada cannot demonstrate material damage to their own markets as a result of COOL.

ACTION ALERT: Congress Voting to Repeal COOL Next Week

June 4, 2015 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

There will be a vote in the House next on the COOL Repeal bill. We are asking members of Congress to speak out against COOL. Please call your member of Congress today and tell them Americans have the right to know where their food comes from and you would like them to speak AGAINST repeal on the House floor next week. Here’s the Action Alert from the National Farmers Union:

Next week is going to be a very tough week for popular labeling law Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL). NFU expects the bill to repeal major parts of the law to be on the House floor between Tuesday and Thursday!

Please call your House member and ask him/her to speak against the COOL repeal bill when the debate is on the floor. Please let each office know that NFU will be scoring this vote and we will be watching to see who speaks against the bill. Thank them for their help; a vote against the repeal bill is a vote for family farmers, ranchers and consumers.

The more speakers we have the less votes will go towards repealing COOL. Please make the call to your representative today! The Capitol switchboard is 202-224-3121.

Here’s a COOL Fact Sheet

Logan, Wise Lobby in D.C. to Preserve COOL

May 19, 2015 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

Joe Logan and Roger Wise are no strangers to the ongoing struggle in Washington, D.C. and Geneva, Switzerland over whether U.S. consumers have a right to know where their food comes from.

The pair are Ohio farmers but they are also the current president of the Ohio Farmers Union (Logan) and the immediate past-president (Wise). Since 2009, Country of Origin Labeling – “COOL” in agricultural circles – has been a recurring policy consideration for each.

COOL is a rule in the 2002 U.S. Farm Bill that mandates retailers provide country of origin labeling for beef, pork and lamb. In 2008, Congress expanded the labeling law to include some other products such as fresh fruits and nuts.

In 2009, the first challenge to COOL came from the Canadian government via the World Trade Organization. While Canada – and subsequently Mexico – have claimed that U.S. COOL rules have cost foreign producers, there is scant economic evidence to support their claims.

There has been, however, a sea change in ownership of U.S. meat interests. The primary owner of U.S. pork interests is now Shuanghui of China. JBS of Brazil is now the largest meat processing company in the United States. Both China and Brazil have issues regarding food safety.

“Yesterday’s WTO decision is an insult to all who wish to have information about the food they consume and an affront to our nation’s ability to adopt legislation that is strongly supported by US Farmers and consumers,” said Logan

“Once again, the Farmers Union will be leading the charge to defend COOL on behalf of farmers and consumers,” Logan said.

National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson is asking lawmakers to allow U.S. trade representatives to work things out with Mexico and Canada.

Johnson pointed out that there have been various press reports in recent weeks indicating that the administration will work with Canada and Mexico on COOL.

“We support that approach to the extent it results in a mutually agreed result that provides consumers meaningful information on the meat products they purchase, including the country where the animal was born, raised and slaughtered. With the significant interest by consumers in knowing where their food comes from, any other result is not acceptable,” Johnson said.

Logan, of Trumbull County, and Wise, of Sandusky County, have a full slate of meetings on Capitol Hill with members of Congress over the next two days. They are part of an NFU group of more than 60 Farmers Union leaders from around the country.

“Our primary message to Congress at this point is leave COOL alone,” said Wise.

“There is precedent for U.S. and international officials to work out their differences rather than scrap a U.S. law and start completely over,” he added.

Johnson Makes Case for COOL

May 5, 2015 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson argued recently in Agri-Pulse that regardless of the upcoming announcement from the World Trade Organization (WTO) on America’s popular labeling law – Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) – Congress needs to let the WTO process run its course.

“The announcement from the WTO on this lawsuit is due in just weeks, and we may win. If not, it can still be brought to arbitration. And that’s why it’s important that Congress refrain from making any changes to the popular labeling law until this process has run its course,” notes Johnson in Agri-Pulse. “To do otherwise would not only be unprecedented in U.S. history, but would also be a disservice to consumers who support COOL by a margin of 90 percent, according to decade’s worth of polling.”

Johnson notes that the food labeling movement is no longer confined to the U.S., but now includes the European Union as well. “A few years ago European politicians got an earful when their constituents learned that they were walking around with a stomachful ¾ of horsemeat. Meat from horses labeled as beef was being imported into the European Union (EU), and since strict labeling laws were not in place in one of the world’s most lucrative markets, consumers were tricked into eating something very different than they thought,” he notes.

Johnson notes the next step in the arbitration process, should the WTO rule against America’s consumers and producers in May, is that Canada and Mexico can retaliate against U.S. But the level of retaliation can be subject to arbitration, if requested by the U.S. The level of arbitration is limited to the adverse effects on Canadian and Mexican exports to the U.S.

“Proving COOL has caused economic harm is going to be no small feat for Canada, given the recent study out of Auburn University that found it was the economic collapse of 2008 – not COOL – that caused a dip in Canadian exports to the U.S.,” he notes.

[Read more…]

May 6: Call President Obama – Ask Him to Stand Up For COOL

May 5, 2015 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

Ohio Farmers Union Members:

National Farmers Union, in partnership with a coalition of other groups, has organized a White House call in day. We’d like to flood the White House with as many calls as possible. Please call President Obama at 888-793-4597 tomorrow, Wednesday, May 6. Please send this along to all members/contacts/friends/family.

Call the White House at 888-793-4597
When you are connected, tell the person who answers:

Hi, my name is _______ and I’m from ______. I urge President Obama to stand up for my right to know where my food comes from by protecting country of origin labels.

That’s it! The whole process should take no more than 60 seconds. The White House tracks every call they get on an issue, so volume of calls matters.

Thanks for your help and continuing concern for public policies that benefit Ohio’s family farmers and consumers.

Canadians ‘Last Act of Desperation’ on COOL

February 11, 2015 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

WASHINGTON – National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson praised today’s dismissal of the U.S. District Court lawsuit on Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL), filed by the multinational meatpacking industry and their allies to try and stop the USDA from implementing the very popular labeling law.

“This is a clear and indisputable win for American consumers and producers, and it’s a huge relief to know that common-sense labeling laws, like COOL, can prevail in court despite the deep pockets of the multinationals,” said Johnson.

The papers ending the long and costly lawsuit were filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, ending American Meat Institute (AMI) et al. v. U.S. Department of Agriculture et al., originally filed in July, 2013.

Last week a Canadian delegation comprised of the Canadian Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Gerry Ritz and members of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, the Canadian Pork Council and the Canadian Meat Council made a lobbying trip to Capital Hill on the heels of the release of a new study conducted by Auburn University Professor Robert Taylor showing that allegations that COOL depressed prices of Canadian cattle were false.

Johnson called the trip “their last act of desperation,” and pointed out that the Auburn University not only demonstrated that that fed cattle price basis actually declined after COOL went into effect, but also that COOL had no negative impact on imports of slaughter cattle and did not significantly affect imports of those of feeder cattle.”

Johnson urged members of Congress to stand by the popular labeling law – supported by roughly 90 percent of consumers – and urged the Canadians to allow the World Trade Organization to consider the new study and the total body of information and arrive at a decision on its own.

“If the U.S. Courts are any indication of the trajectory of success of COOL, then American consumers are finally going to be permitted to know where their food comes from without intervention from our chief trade competitors and their multinational allies,” he said.

NFU releases new data showing Canadian claims regarding Country of Origin Labeling bogus

January 26, 2015 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

from the National Farmers Union

Contrary to arguments made by America’s trade competitors to the World Trade Organization (WTO), an economic downturn that sapped consumer demand — not Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) — caused decreased demand for cattle imports into to the U.S., according to a new study released last week.

“COOL did not cause the declines in livestock exports to the United States, which largely coincided with a substantial global economic downturn that sapped demand for more expensive meat products,” notes the study, authored by C. Robert Taylor, Ph.D., an Auburn University Alfa Eminent Scholar and Professor.

Canada and Mexico challenged COOL provisions related to muscle cuts of beef at the WTO in 2008, alleging the widely popular labeling law was a trade barrier that compromised their export opportunities and market access to the United States for live cattle and hogs. The cost of implementing COOL, they argued, discouraged U.S. meatpacking and processing companies from purchasing livestock of non-U.S. origin and, as a result, reduced the prices of these livestock exports.

But after close examination of more robust data sources to assess the impact of COOL on market access, the study found:

COOL has not had a significant negative effect on the price paid for imported slaughter cattle relative to comparable domestic cattle. In fact, the fed cattle price basis declined after the law went into effect. “The price basis is lower in the six years since implementation of COOL than it was the preceding four years,” the study notes;
COOL did not negatively impact imports of slaughter cattle. “Qualitative and econometric analysis of Mandatory Price Reporting (MPR) and monthly trade and price data cast considerable doubt on assertions that COOL negatively affected imports of slaughter cattle,” says the study. Failure to recognize the effects of imported and domestic captive supplies of slaughter cattle and beef demand uncertainty, along with other factors, played a larger role in reduced import demand than acknowledged in previous studies.
COOL did not significantly affect imports of feeder cattle. “USDA monthly data on imports of 400-700 lb. cattle did not show COOL having a significant negative effect of imports of feeder cattle from either Canada or Mexico relative to placements in U.S. feedlots,” the study points out.

[Read more…]

Americans Want to Know Where Their Food Comes From

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