Agricultural News
Fate of Injunction Against This Label May Be Known by Mid September
Wed, 14 Aug 2013 05:48:13 CDT
Later this month- a federal judge in Washington, DC will hear from the opponents of the new Country of Origin labeling rule that the Obama Administration put in place in the latter days of May of this year. The new rule demands more tracking of fresh beef, pork or lamb in the supermarkets of this country- as now the processors must tell you where the animal that produced the meat in that package was born, spent it's life and then where that animal was processed- or harvested. This new, more detailed label is a response to the WTO ruling against the original COOL label that came on the scene because of the 2008 Farm Bill language that required it.
The National Cattlemen's Beef Association and eight other livestock and meat industry groups have rallied together and have filed a lawsuit, asking for an injunction against the new rule. Colin Woodall of the NCBA's Washington office, says that once the Judge has heard the initial arguments- a ruling for or against a temporary injunction against the USDA on this label that you see in the picture could be forthcoming sometime in September.
The opponents of COOL argue that the industry has seen no economic benefit from the rule- and that the vast majority of consumers have not paid attention to the COOL information found in small print on meat packages for the past four to five years. Supporters of the rule contend that consumers do want to know this information, citing studies conducted by the Consumer Federation of America.
Several groups, including the CFA, have joined forces and asked for standing in the litigation to argue on behalf of the USDA in favor of keeping the COOL rule as it is.
We hear from Colin Woodall of the NCBA on the litigation angle of this ongoing war over COOL in today's Beef Buzz.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network- but is also a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today's show- and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today
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