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Wasted time
If this last week didn't show the urgency of implementing country-of-origin labeling, then nothing will. Do you think a meat label showing that particular cow originally came from Canada would have helped soften the blow for USA beef producers?
If some people continue to have their way, COOL will be studied and studied and studied until USA beef producers die a financial death. I realize we want to implement COOL in the right way, but time is not the beef producer's friend. Granted COOL would not have been implemented in time for this BSE case, but delaying COOL implementation certainly will not help the next time. The technology is available today at a reasonable price to identify each animal.
I can guarantee animal identification will be a requirement very shortly before you can sell any livestock. You will be required to have record identifying each animal. The argument that COOL will cost producers billions is only a smoke screen and a scare tactic by COOL opponents. In the first place it will not cost producers billions--maybe millions that you will have to spend anyway on a national livestock identification program which Congress should pay for to help with national security. How many billions do you think this BSE cow will cost beef producers? I would just about bet the ranch that USA consumers will gladly pay more for USA food that meets COOL requirements: born, raised and produced in the USA.
Most successful producers have records and are proud of their beef product and willing to promote USA beef. The cost of COOL is minuscule in comparison to this fiasco.
This year I visited on the phone with the staff members of one of my elected officials. It concerns me that this elected official has a beef producer on his staff that thinks identifying his livestock for COOL is "too much of a hassle and producers should not be put through this expense and hardship." This same beef producer told me that he could "tell by looking at the meat in the meat case if it was USA produced or not." I hope this elected official is not basing his vote on COOL by any advice from his staff member.
This same staff employee told me "there is concern how much it might cost meat packers to separate imported meat from USA meat." Sorry, I don't have sympathy for any meat processor processing imported meat. Mr. Elected Official, who are you concerned about--meat processors importing cheap meat to blend with USA meat or USA producers and consumers?
When the BSE cow was found in Canada, our government officials had to know there was the potential and still is the potential of Canadian born cattle in the USA. Why were those cattle not tracked down immediately and destroyed? Is that being done now? No beef should be imported until COOL is implemented so consumers know positively the origin of their beef, that way they can decide what beef they want to purchase. Had we spent time a year ago implementing some type of identification system instead of wasting time debating, stalling and delaying, some effort toward implementing COOL might have helped. I'm sure it would not have hurt.
--Mike Harden, Ashland, Kan.
Date: 12/31/03
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