R-CALF USA may be defined as a non-profit producer organization, but our work benefits anyone who eats meat and lives in an economy that includes agriculture. We’re more than a producer organization, we’re your organization!
Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL): The fight’s not over.
On May 19 the 11 judges in the D.C. appellate court heard the En Banc hearing on COOL. There is no time frame for when a decision must be made. Also, the decision by the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding whether the final COOL rule complies with the WTO’s international rules is expected in June. The WTO’s decision will most likely be appealed.
Recently, Brazil reported a second case of BSE.
United States food safety inspectors confirmed that Brazil was not routinely removing all high-risk tissues for BSE as required for countries that export to the United States.
Despite Brazil’s failure to meet U.S. food safety standards, FSIS officials nevertheless determined that Brazil “continues to meet FSIS equivalence criteria at an adequate level for this component (the specified risk material (SRM) removal component).”
R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard said these facts demonstrate the need to fully enforce the U.S. country-of-origin labeling (COOL) law. “Only with COOL can consumers choose to avoid purchasing their food from countries with questionable food safety systems,” he said.
R-CALF USA is disappointed by the House Appropriations Committee’s passage of the Agriculture Appropriations Bill. In an effort to encourage members of the appropriations committee to vote no, a group of nearly 200 organizations including R-CALF USA, sent letters to members of both the Senate and House Appropriations Committees urging them to reject any efforts in their upcoming 2015 Appropriations Bill to insert policy riders that would harm family farmers, ranchers and consumers.
Unfortunately, the work of the groups was not impactful enough to protect family farmers, ranchers and consumers. According to Bullard, “There is no better indicator of a totally dysfunctional Congress than when members of Congress actually vote to support retaliation against U.S. family farmers and ranchers, which is exactly what the House majority did today in their Appropriations Committee.”
All letters, comments and presentations mentioned above are available at http://www.r-calfusa.com.
Make plans to attend the R-CALF USA Convention Aug. 29-30 in Cheyenne, Wyo, and hear from experts on issues affecting the U.S. cattle and sheep industries. For more information visit http://www.r-calfusa.com.
The Meat Racket is still for sale through R-CALF USA. We’re able to offer it at the discounted price of $25 (retail $28). To order: Send $25 to R-CALF USA Box 30715, Billings, MT 59107 with The Meat Racket in the memo line or call 406-252-2516 and order with a credit card.
R-CALF USA is solely funded by donations and member dues. Please consider becoming a member. For more info or to join, go to http://www.r-calfusa.com, 406-252-2516.
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