Solution to America's M-COOL Problem

[Joe-2]

Some Americans(like R-calf)are demanding M-COOL. The rest of them all realize that it will be all cost and no benefit.
Here is an inexpensive and easy solution to the problem.
Just explain to consumers that the beef with the yellow fat is American,and the beef with the white fat is Canadian and let them decide which one to buy. End of problem!!!

Think they'd go for it???

[whiteface]

Joe, I'd like to see you over on Ranchers with that same solution, be awesome to see you at it with some of those guys...
Just not today, it's fightless friday. Hope yer there tommorrow with that statement!

[Willowcreek]

The interesting thing is tho that if the US had a COOL law ***tioning it would take away many of the arguments that R-CALF, NCBA, consumers groups, and Congressmen are making about keeping the border closed. Much of the food safety issue about Canadian meat would be a moot point. The consumers would have a choice and the decision would be left to them to decide the safety of Canadian product.

Personally I believe that if there was a COOL law much of the opposition to the border opening would have disappeared and the border would be open.

[intr3est]

Good point Willowcreek! And after they implement COOL and we implement testing of all cattle, who's meat will they then choose?

[farmers_son]

Interesting comments re: M-Cool giving consumers a choice. International trade in beef is not driven by consumer demand rather it is and it needs to based on science, recognizing that the science is interpreted by politicians.

Look at Japan. I notice that Japan resuming trade with the U.S. does not revolve around a mandatory law identifying U.S. beef in Japanese meat coolers so the consumer can choose.

The consumer needs to be assured that all beef is safe. Consumer confidence in beef will be eroded by segregating product according to country of origin thereby forcing nation against nation as inevitably each country makes inferences that the other countries’ product is somehow not as safe or nutritious or tasty as their domestic country's product.

Whether we are talking U.S. beef, Canadian beef, Australian beef or elsewhere, before it gets to the retail cooler it all passes through the hands of a few multinationals such as Cargill or Tyson. Just think about how these pirate companies could pit each nation’s producers against another nation’s producers in order to drive down the price of live cattle.

Let’s face it, when it comes to making a living raising cattle those packers are the problem, not producers in Canada or Australia. There is more to be gained by North American producers and Australian/New Zealand producers finding ways to work together to break the monopoly of the big packers than producers will ever realize from country of origin legislation. COOL just plays into the hands of the multinationals. My opinion.

[Willowcreek]

Interestingly tho, it is my understanding that Japan, like many of the European nations, has COOL. I know that after the May 2003 cow and before the Washington cow, when Japan was requiring the US to segregate off US beef, all beef going to Japan was being marked and sold as a Product of USA.

[jensend]

any of the real r-calfers wouldn't back off if there was suddenly a feasible, enforcible cool law. they are protectionists, straight and simple and regard government intervention to restrict foreign competition as their reason to exist. right now they have the totally insupportable health issues and cool as a fallback but they will always find a reason to want to restrict competition. if the border opens we will see a raft of trade actions trying to paint the canadian cattle industry as unfairly subsidized. what's happening now is the future. these guys are loading up with money and will be a pain in the butt for years to come.

[farmers_son]

It was my understanding that the U.S. and Australia successfully won a WTO ruling against South Korea for its dual beef labelling law (MCOOL) in 2000-01.

See: www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/dispu_subjects_index_e.htm
click on beef, Korea.

Korea had passed a MCOOL law that would have seen U.S. beef labelled as such. The U.S. successfully challenged that law. I am not aware of what the situation is in Japan but I imagine the U.S. would not tolerate MCOOL used to discriminate against its products in Japan any more than it would have in Korea.

[grassfarmer]

Well said farmers_son (your 2nd last post) packer control is the biggest problem facing us all. We can waste a lot of time debating whether r-calf will keep the border closed, or if a a few ncba members touring Canada will open it. In reality the border being open or closed to live cattle per se is not the problem. We only seek it to get out of a short term bind caused by the current packer monopoly.
Since day 1 (May 03) this whole deal has been about packer profiteering in a captive market - beef prices did not crash for consumers they went up, the financial blows ranchers and feeders have taken was because money was removed from the production chain unfairly. I wish people would see that and act - politicians will not admit it, ABP/CCA will not admit it. So we muddle along wasting taxpayer money bailing out a production chain that needs regulation not subsidisation.

[Cedar]

Well said, Grassfarmer, but, do you have any idea what type of regulations would do any good to try and alleviate this problem?