Country of origin labeling, or COOL, helps consumers know where the food they’re buying came from. It’s required for products such as fruits and vegetables, and proteins like seafood and chicken. Missing from that list since 2015 are pork and beef.
Rep. Ryan Zinke joined Wyoming Rep. Harriet Hageman in sponsoring a bill that could change that. The proposed legislation would restore COOL labeling for beef. It also states that beef labeled as a product of the United States must have been raised and processed in the U.S.
Montana Farmers Union President Walter Schweitzer praised the move.
“These multinational packers can bring in beef from another country, and generally it’s gonna be the scraps from their packing plant that they put in a box and bring it to the U.S. to a burger plant somewhere, where they mix that burger — and sometimes they don’t even mix it, they just put it in a package and call it ‘product of USA’ because they packaged it,” Schweitzer said.
He acknowledged U.S. beef would likely be priced higher than beef from other countries if the policy is approved.
Beef and pork were removed from COOL after the World Trade Organization found the labeling gave the United States an advantage over Mexico and Canada. The two countries threatened retaliatory sanctions if the policy wasn’t amended.
The Montana Stockgrowers Association said it supports WTO-compliant labeling.
Sen. Tim Sheehy’s office said he believes “American beef should be labeled as American beef.” The office did not clarify whether he supports Zinke’s bill.
Spokespeople for Rep. Troy Downing and Sen. Steve Daines said they were reviewing the legislation.
