Proposed Label Misleading and Unfair to American Producers
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 15, 2000)-The National Farmers Union (NFU) board of directors, in letters to Congress and Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman, demanded the rejection of a proposed certification system that would allow beef produced from cattle in the U.S. for as little as 100 days to be labeled "Beef: Made in the USA." The proposal, if ratified, would allow animals raised primarily outside of the United States to be included for certification.
"This proposed labeling system is inadequate, designed to misinform the consumer and unfair to producers whose cattle are born and raised in the United States," said Leland Swenson, NFU president. "When a product says 'made in the USA,' that means something important to consumers and the people who produced it."
Most imported feeder cattle are placed in a U.S. feed-yard for 90-180 days. This is a small fraction of the life of beef cattle. The proposed system would allow many of these foreign cattle to receive the "Beef: Made in the USA" label.
U.S. producers of beef cattle are required to contribute to a national checkoff program that promotes U.S. beef to consumers. This effort would allow some imported beef to receive the "made in the USA" label. This undermines the efforts of cow/calf producers who breed and raise cattle domestically and brings into question the integrity of this promotion program.
"It is unfair to American producers to allow foreign cattle to receive the same label," said Swenson. "It is unfair to consumers who want to make an informed choice. We strenuously urge USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service to reject this petition and Congress to reject any enabling legislation. We must develop a labeling system that truly reflects the origin of agricultural products.":
