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Country of origin labeling debate intensifies as Trump orders review of beef labeling rules

The cattle industry is divided over the role and future of mandatory country of origin labeling.

Bill Bullard, CEO of R-CALF USA says the National MCOOL Coalition’s recently launched “Label Our Beef” petition is proof that there is nationwide momentum behind the movement. “There’s been about 7,000 signers in just 72 hours, and that’s pretty impressive,” he says. “And it clearly reveals the widespread support for country-of-origin labeling from both producers and consumers.”

Last Friday, President Trump signed an Executive Order instructing the Secretary of Agriculture to review country-of-origin labeling for beef products.

Jerry Moran, a U.S. Senator from Kansas, tells Brownfield. “Perhaps with the reaction from livestock producers with his proposal to import beef, he’s looking for ways to be helpful for the livestock sector. Of course, country of origin labeling is a split thing in many states, and it certainly is in mine.” He says country of origin labeling will likely remain in the Senate’s version of the farm bill.  “Then it will have to be debated in the House and Senate to see if it survives in a conference.”

Ag economist Charley Martinez, director of the King Ranch Institute of Ranch Management says policymakers need to consider the long-term impacts of measures that are designed to address near-term issues. “I don’t think there’s one policy that’s going to fix everything,” he says. “I think it’s a, if we’re going to have policy, it’s a plethora of different kinds of policy, and I think the cost benefit analysis of those are imperative right now because we’re at such a unique time in the environment and the marketplace.”

Congress repealed Country of Origin Labeling in 2015 following a ruling from the World Trade Organization that would have allowed Canada and Mexico to impose more than a billion dollars in retaliatory tariffs.

Brownfield’s Kellan Heavican contributed to this story.