COOL Lawsuit is Another Delaying Tactic

WASHINGTON (July 10, 2013) – National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson issued the following statement in response to a lawsuit filed by eight U.S. and Canadian packer and packer-producer organizations to prevent implementation of the strengthened Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) rule:
 
“Time and again, many organizations that represent or are heavily influenced by meatpackers have dragged their feet when it comes to COOL. They prevented COOL from being implemented after the 2002 Farm Bill, tried to block it following the 2008 farm bill, and now are suing to stop the revised COOL rules from taking effect. Such delaying and stalling tactics only serve to deprive their customers of important information about the products they buy.
 
“The United States is not the first country to require COOL, and it is popular with the general public. Other countries have implemented COOL. In fact, as of 2007, Canada and 47 other countries had either enacted or were planning to establish COOL. A 2008 Consumer Reports poll found that 95 percent of consumers believe that processed or packaged food should be labeled by country of origin and that country of origin should always be available at point of purchase.
 
“Farmers, ranchers, consumers, and perhaps even the processors themselves would be much better served if meatpackers complied with the new rules that were written to World Trade Organization guidelines and approved by the administration. The American public deserves and wants to know where their food comes from and the new COOL rule ensures that they do.”