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COOL is hereBy Holly Martin This week, a long-debated and controversial issue began its implementation. Country-of-origin labeling (COOL) has been a part of the law since 2002, but was delayed in 2004 and again in 2005 for beef, pork and other products. On the surface, COOL seems like a good idea. A big "USA" stamp on a juicy KC strip-what more could the consumer ask for? But the problem is that the consumers didn't ask for it-some cattlemen did. They hope that by putting the USA label in front of consumers, they will choose American beef and close the door to their foreign competitors. The documentation behind that "USA" stamp has been the sticking point to legislation. Processors and retailers have balked at being responsible for the information. Cattlemen have worried how to verify the origin of their cattle. Wouldn't it be great if American consumers were the driving force behind this legislation? If so, the retailers and processors would have found a way to make it work instead of dragging their feet. Cattle producers who were on the cutting-edge would have jumped at the chance to source-verify their cattle. And it would have all been for a premium. Consumer dollars mean action and they mean action quickly. Instead, what we have is a huge, laborious government program that no one is entirely happy with, partly because of the loopholes to the legislation. This year's farm bill gave retailers and processors a present: a stamp to cover their backsides. It says, "Product of the USA, Canada and Mexico." That way, unless the processor is utilizing meat produced overseas, they have their product labeled correctly. And who can blame them for asking for it? They don't want to be held liable if there is no return for additional government regulation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has attempted to close the loophole to say processors may not use the mixed origin label unless there was actually mixed origin meat produced during that production day. But, it remains to be seen how closely the rule will be followed. In addition, the program is still not fully funded. Currently Congress has given USDA $1 million for the implementation of the fish and shellfish portion of the bill. According to Agriculture Marketing Service Administrator Lloyd Day, USDA estimates that $9.6 million will be needed to carry out enforcement of the other sections of the COOL law. I hope that COOL will be wildly successful. I hope American consumers see an American label and buy it. However, I'm afraid the bill will be just more government regulation, spending tax dollars, without any type of reward. Holly Martin can be reached by phone at 1-800-452-7171 ext. 1806 or e-mail at hmartin@hpj.com. 10/6/08 Date: 10/1/08
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