There’s Beef with Labels: MCOOL Provisions At Play

Drake watching Kendrick Lamar dissing him on national television: COOL.

Also COOL: Country of Origin Labeling. It’s coming back around by way of the American Beef Labeling Act. It seems to have bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate. But with agricultural groups, responses have been mixed. Just like the Super Bowl halftime show!

Stay humble: Previously, mandatory country-of-origin (MCOOL) labeling provisions were enacted in the 2002 farm bill and implemented in 2009. But some countries (Canada and Mexico) squabbled up with the U.S. over it, and MCOOL was repealed in 2015.

They’re back, just like Kendrick’s Super Bowl performance flare jeans: The Act would reinstate MCOOL for beef and require the U.S. Trade Representative and the Department of Agriculture to develop a World Trade Organization-compliant plan to reinstate MCOOL—all within six months. Then there would be another six months to implement. If they don’t get there, MCOOL is automatically reinstated for beef.

They not like us: Ag groups disagree on MCOOL. Those for it (National Farmers Union, U.S. Cattlemen’s Association, and R-CALF USA) say it provides transparency to consumers. Those opposed to it (National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, its affiliates, and American Farm Bureau Federation) support a more voluntary approach, saying a mandatory labeling system distorts trade and drives up prices for consumers.