Origin Labeling
From the Minot Daily News:
Putting a "country of origin" label on meat makes sense to me. When a consumer is evaluating a product for purchase, where the product came from is an important fact to consider. Banning meat imports from Canada doesn't make sense, however.
Dorgan and Pomeroy are using the current mad-cow scare as a way to promote more legislation that would further shelter the American agriculture industry from international competition. I say phooey to that. We can't continue to prop up the agriculture industry by constantly bailing out failing farms and ranches with subsidies and tariffs on foreign goods. At some point our Ag industry is just going to have to become competitive.
In addition, its hard for Americans to both downplay the seriousness of BSE and then turn around and ban cattle imports from another country because of it. Lets face the fact that BSE just isn't that big of a deal. We should protect our cattle industry from it but its just not the international crisis our media would have us believe it is.
If Canada were to ban our beef imports these politicians would be singing a different tune.
North Dakota congressmen and the state agriculture commissioner want to see the federal government make some changes in response to the discovery of a case of mad cow disease in Washington state last week.
Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D. and state Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson on Monday said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Anne Venemen should suspend plans to allow live cattle imports from Canada.
Johnson said a comment period on the plan, scheduled to end Jan. 5, should be extended while the investigation of the mad cow case is ongoing.
Dorgan, Pomeroy and Johnson want the federal government to require country-of-origin labeling for meat.
Pomeroy said country-of-origin labeling was an "obvious" step to take.
"They can look at their neck ties, shirt or shoes and know where it came from," Dorgan said. "They should be able to do the same thing with meat."
Putting a "country of origin" label on meat makes sense to me. When a consumer is evaluating a product for purchase, where the product came from is an important fact to consider. Banning meat imports from Canada doesn't make sense, however.
Dorgan and Pomeroy are using the current mad-cow scare as a way to promote more legislation that would further shelter the American agriculture industry from international competition. I say phooey to that. We can't continue to prop up the agriculture industry by constantly bailing out failing farms and ranches with subsidies and tariffs on foreign goods. At some point our Ag industry is just going to have to become competitive.
In addition, its hard for Americans to both downplay the seriousness of BSE and then turn around and ban cattle imports from another country because of it. Lets face the fact that BSE just isn't that big of a deal. We should protect our cattle industry from it but its just not the international crisis our media would have us believe it is.
If Canada were to ban our beef imports these politicians would be singing a different tune.
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