WASHINGTON -- The House passed a two-year delay for a mandatory meat labeling law Friday, further postponing a program popular with ranchers in the Midwest and Northern Rockies.
The program, authorized in 2002 as part of six-year farm legislation, would require retailers to stamp meat and meat products with "Made in the U.S.A." labels that indicate the country of origin.
Originally scheduled to start in 2004, Congress two years ago delayed the program until 2006. Under the legislation passed by the House Friday, it would be delayed again until 2008.
The Senate appears to be on track to pass the same legislation, which is the product of House-Senate negotiations on agriculture spending for the budget year that began Oct. 1.
"This just proves that we need to keep fighting," said Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo. He and fellow Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi are both strong supporters of country-of-origin labeling.
Several senators have spoken out against the language, but so far none have gone as far to say they will block it on the Senate floor.
The labeling law was written by representatives of Midwestern ranching states who fear competition from Canadian beef producers, and contend that labeling the food would help consumers make educated choices about the meat they buy. That argument was fueled by several cases of mad cow disease discovered in Canada in recent years.
Large meatpacking companies and retailers, along with ranchers in the Southwest where Mexican and U.S. meat is often mixed in packing houses, say the massive paperwork associated with the labels will drive up costs and consumer prices. Rep. Henry Bonilla, a Texas Republican who is chairman of the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, has led the fight to kill the law.
Many Montana ranchers support COOL because they suspect consumers would pay premium prices for beef born, raised and processed in the United States if it were so labeled. The Montana Stockgrowers Association expressed “continuing frustration” with the delay, noting there was no debate or vote taken on the matter. To his credit, Sen. Burns did not sign the report.
The program, authorized in 2002 as part of six-year farm legislation, would require retailers to stamp meat and meat products with "Made in the U.S.A." labels that indicate the country of origin.
Originally scheduled to start in 2004, Congress two years ago delayed the program until 2006. Under the legislation passed by the House Friday, it would be delayed again until 2008.
The Senate appears to be on track to pass the same legislation, which is the product of House-Senate negotiations on agriculture spending for the budget year that began Oct. 1.
"This just proves that we need to keep fighting," said Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo. He and fellow Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi are both strong supporters of country-of-origin labeling.
Several senators have spoken out against the language, but so far none have gone as far to say they will block it on the Senate floor.
The labeling law was written by representatives of Midwestern ranching states who fear competition from Canadian beef producers, and contend that labeling the food would help consumers make educated choices about the meat they buy. That argument was fueled by several cases of mad cow disease discovered in Canada in recent years.
Large meatpacking companies and retailers, along with ranchers in the Southwest where Mexican and U.S. meat is often mixed in packing houses, say the massive paperwork associated with the labels will drive up costs and consumer prices. Rep. Henry Bonilla, a Texas Republican who is chairman of the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, has led the fight to kill the law.
Many Montana ranchers support COOL because they suspect consumers would pay premium prices for beef born, raised and processed in the United States if it were so labeled. The Montana Stockgrowers Association expressed “continuing frustration” with the delay, noting there was no debate or vote taken on the matter. To his credit, Sen. Burns did not sign the report.
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