Letter to US Senate supporting Country of Origin Labeling
January 20, 2004
Dear Senator:
The 2002 farm bill included a requirement that meat, produce, fish and
peanuts be identified in the grocery store by their country of origin.
The provision ordered the Agriculture Department to set up a voluntary
labeling program by September 2002, with a mandatory program to be
established by fall 2004. The labeling provision was favored by farm
groups and a coalition of consumer groups, including the Consumer
Federation of America. Opponents, in yet another effort to kill the
labeling program, now seek a two-year delay in implementing the law.
Consumer Federation of America has long supported country-of-origin
labeling of meat, poultry, seafood and fresh produce, as a means of
providing consumers with additional information about the source of
their food. As a matter of choice, many consumers may wish to purchase
produce grown and processed in the United States or meat from animals
born, raised and processed here. Also, consumers may wish to either
seek out or avoid meat or produce from a particular country based on
reports of sanitary conditions or pesticide use in that country, or in
reaction to specific incidents of disease associated with certain foods.
Without country-of-origin labeling, these consumers are unable to make
an informed choice between U.S. and imported products. The recent mad
cow scare and Hepatitis A outbreak related to scallions only reinforces
the fact that consumers need to be able to determine where their food
comes from.
Recent statements by the food industry have called for establishing a
voluntary labeling system, instead of a federally mandated one. Given
the fact that those backing a voluntary program have opposed the idea
of country-of-origin labeling, it is hard to accept that this program
would come to fruition and be made to work effectively. The industry
proposal does not even guarantee that all producers would participate.
We ask that you join Consumer Federation of America and the nearly 165
agriculture and consumer groups in opposing the two-year delay in
mandatory country-of-origin labeling.
Sincerely,
Chris Waldrop
Health and Safety Associate
Consumer Federation of America