COOL for our U.S. beef customers: A reality
By DANNI BEER and LEO MCDONNELL
Prairie Star
An Open Letter to Cattle Producers:
In 2002 the U.S. Congress mandated country of origin labeling (COOL) for beef, lamb, pork, fish, perishable agriculture commodities and peanuts. The journey to that point was a long and arduous process during which U.S. producers and consumers stood the test, stayed engaged and overcame the many obstacles thrown up by COOL’s opponents.
It was a sweet victory in 2002, but many of us knew the battle was far from over. Passage of the law was but one step. Rule-writing, implementation and funding were the steps yet to come. As time went on, it became obvious that COOL’s opponents would take every opportunity to delay implementation of the law, and they were successful. Funding for implementation was withheld by Congress during the appropriations process.
