FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: David Thews, 202-554-1600
dthews@nfudc.org

WASHINGTON (July 29, 2014) – National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson issued the following statement after receiving news of the District Court of Appeals’ en banc decision on a challenge to enforcement of Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) by the multinational meatpackers and our foreign competitors. By a 9-2 majority, the panel upheld an earlier 3-judge panel decision to deny an appeal to halt the enforcement of the popular labeling law, passed in 2008.

“NFU, and our broad coalition of consumer and producer organizations, have achieved yet another victory in our long battle to uphold the enforcement of the COOL regulation as modified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA). This marks the third time that COOL has won in court. There is no need for this case to proceed.

“The Court ruled that the government may require factual, uncontroversial information to be included on a label. American consumers want to know basic information about where their meat comes from, and livestock producers across this great nation are very proud of what they produce and happy to let consumers know where their meat comes from. USDA’s new COOL rules will significantly improve the information available to consumers by reducing confusion about the origins of meat products. It will also provide U.S. livestock producers the opportunity to differentiate their products, which they are proud to claim as theirs.”

National Farmers Union has been working since 1902 to protect and enhance the economic well-being and quality of life for family farmers, ranchers and rural communities through advocating grassroots-driven policy positions adopted by its membership.

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