Alberta Agriculture Minister Verlyn Olson is travelling to Chicago next week to support the livestock industry. The minister will meet with American meat packers rallying support for changes to U.S. Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) rules at the North American Meat Association Conference.
He said, “Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling makes absolutely no sense. Not only does it fail to enhance food safety, but it is hurting the livestock industry on both sides of the border by imposing millions of dollars in unnecessary costs that will undoubtedly trickle down to consumers.”
COOL requires meat derived from animals born, raised or slaughtered outside the U.S. to have labels identifying the countries that were involved with it. The legislation is also hurting the hog industry. Many American producers, packers and others in the U.S. industry also want the legislation to be changed.
“We belong to an integrated industry on both sides of the border and we rely on each other,” said Agriculture Minister Olson. “What’s good for one side is good for the other side and COOL hurts both of us.”
U.S. giant Tyson recently stopped buying finished Canadian cattle because of high costs caused by COOL. Many people who work in the U.S. meat packing industry fear their packing plants might close and they might lose their jobs.
The chair of Alberta Beef Producers, Doug Sawyer is pleased Agriculture Minister Olson will meet with U.S. officials next week.
“COOL legislation in the U.S. is costing our producers anywhere from 600 million dollars to a billion dollars per year,” Sawyer said. “That’s huge. That’s horrifically huge to us,” he added.
Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz will also meet with U.S. officials at the North American Meat Association Conference in Chicago. The conference will start on Sunday and finish Tuesday, November 5.
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