Since COOL requires meat packaging have labels indicating where the product came from, it is no surprise that foreign government and meatpackers have rallied against it. After all, they can’t afford to have their bottom line lessened.
It’s incredibly disheartening to see that our duly-elected representatives in Washington would rather listen to well-connected special interests than the American people when drawing up food policy. Even though an astounding number of Americans support COOL, Congress went ahead and threw in it’s lot with the multinational corporations who benefit from it’s repeal.
“After the repeal, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement: ‘Effective immediately, USDA is not enforcing the COOL requirements for muscle cut and ground beef and pork.’ He reassured consumers that ‘all imported and domestic meat will continue to be subject to rigorous inspections by USDA to ensure food safety.’
Critics of the repeal said that the WTO overturned a common sense label supported by a majority of Americans. 90% of those surveyed in 2013 favored country-of-origin-labeling for fresh meat sold in stores.
‘Congress willingly kowtowed to international trade tribunals to gut COOL and even tossed out the labels for ground meats that the WTO ruled were totally trade-legal—a holiday gift to the meatpacking industry from Congress,’ said Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter.”
Source: Forbes
Photo: anajetli
And the FDA just made it illeagle to label food with its country source of Origen ? This government has gone bad !
I swear the American people are being depopulated by these atrocious acts. God help us all.