Country Of Origin Labeling Still Main Goal Of R-CALF
US - If a cantaloupe from Costa Rica, Chinese sardines and fruit grown in the United States can be labeled to identify where they came from, it should be simple to label meat with its country of origin, U.S. livestock producers say.
16 April 2007
1 minute read
Members of R-CALF USA, or Ranchers-Cattlemen's Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America, who are committed to country-of-origin labeling say it is vital to protecting the nation's food supply.
They are equally determined to protect consumers from the potential risk of allowing Canadian cattle older than 30 months of age back into the U.S. food supply.
Congress passed legislation in 2002 requiring country-of-origin labeling, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture has resisted implementing COOL.
"Who would have known it would have taken this long over a deal so simple," said Rick Fox of Hermosa, president of the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association, which is affiliated with R-CALF USA.
"It has to come from the producers that demand it and consumers that demand these things," Fox said.
Ultimately, it could be the deaths of people's pets, attributed to a banned substance in imported wheat gluten, that puts pressure on USDA, Fox said. People are beginning to talk about the importance of a safe, local source of food, he said.
