Senate committee passes on COOL meat delay
Senate committee passes on COOL meat delay
WASHINGTON -- After the House of Representatives voted to delay country-of-origin labeling for meat, it is now the Senate's turn to weigh in on whether USDA should postpone meat labeling until September 2007.
But on June 21, the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee approved the Senate's version of the fiscal year 2006 Agriculture Appropriations Bill without any mention of the embattled labeling program. The issue could surface when the spending bill is considered June 23 by the full committee.
"We weren't surprised because of the level of support for mandatory COOL for all the commodities in the Senate," said National Farmers Union's Katy Ziegler. The issue is far from settled, however, as it could come up at the June 23 committee markup or on the Senate floor, she said.
Earlier this month, the House voted to delay implementing the mandatory country-of-origin labeling program for meat and meat products, and some experts believe the delay may be expanded to include produce during some last-minute negotiations. The House rejected by a 240-187 margin an amendment that would have continued the mandatory COOL program for beef.
COOL opponents are still waging a war against mandatory labeling, and opponents are hoping that legislation, which is scheduled to be introduced in the coming weeks, will repeal the entire program gains momentum.
Meanwhile, a pro-COOL consumer group released the results of a new poll in an effort to sway the upcoming Senate vote. Eighty-five percent of those surveyed said they want country-of-origin labeling, said Public Citizen's poll. Some 74 percent support the idea of Congress requiring origin labeling, and 55 percent have "little or not much trust in the meat, seafood, produce and grocery industries to voluntarily provide country-of-origin information. The poll, which was conducted June 9-12 by Lake Snell Perry Mermin & Associates, surveyed 1,004 consumers.
Country-of-origin labels are just common sense. What is industry hiding by not wanting to reveal where its food is produced, asked Wenonah Hauter, director of Public Citizen's food program. "We think it's time for members of Congress to listen to their constituents and mandate that industry label its food products.
In other news, the Senate subcommittee did not act to expand funding for the fruit and vegetable snack program at the subcommittee airing of the bill, but that could change at the June 23 markup by the full committee.
The United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association has been pushing Congress to expand the popular fruit and vegetable snack program that services school-aged children in eight states and three American Indian reservations. Advocates say the successful program not only distributes domestically grown fruits and vegetables in schools, it also educates students on the importance of eating healthy and preventing diet-related chronic diseases.
Children can receive a free fruit or vegetable snack at participating schools in Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington and also at Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico, the Intertribal Council in Arizona and the Ogala Sioux Tribe of Pine River Reservation in South Dakota.
The current program provides $1 million to each of the eight states and schools on three Indian reservations. United has been urging lawmakers to add another $42 million to expand the program to the remaining states, and the group was hoping -- at press time -- to secure the funds when the committee considers the USDA spending bill on June 23.
But on June 21, the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee approved the Senate's version of the fiscal year 2006 Agriculture Appropriations Bill without any mention of the embattled labeling program. The issue could surface when the spending bill is considered June 23 by the full committee.
"We weren't surprised because of the level of support for mandatory COOL for all the commodities in the Senate," said National Farmers Union's Katy Ziegler. The issue is far from settled, however, as it could come up at the June 23 committee markup or on the Senate floor, she said.
Earlier this month, the House voted to delay implementing the mandatory country-of-origin labeling program for meat and meat products, and some experts believe the delay may be expanded to include produce during some last-minute negotiations. The House rejected by a 240-187 margin an amendment that would have continued the mandatory COOL program for beef.
COOL opponents are still waging a war against mandatory labeling, and opponents are hoping that legislation, which is scheduled to be introduced in the coming weeks, will repeal the entire program gains momentum.
Meanwhile, a pro-COOL consumer group released the results of a new poll in an effort to sway the upcoming Senate vote. Eighty-five percent of those surveyed said they want country-of-origin labeling, said Public Citizen's poll. Some 74 percent support the idea of Congress requiring origin labeling, and 55 percent have "little or not much trust in the meat, seafood, produce and grocery industries to voluntarily provide country-of-origin information. The poll, which was conducted June 9-12 by Lake Snell Perry Mermin & Associates, surveyed 1,004 consumers.
Country-of-origin labels are just common sense. What is industry hiding by not wanting to reveal where its food is produced, asked Wenonah Hauter, director of Public Citizen's food program. "We think it's time for members of Congress to listen to their constituents and mandate that industry label its food products.
In other news, the Senate subcommittee did not act to expand funding for the fruit and vegetable snack program at the subcommittee airing of the bill, but that could change at the June 23 markup by the full committee.
The United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association has been pushing Congress to expand the popular fruit and vegetable snack program that services school-aged children in eight states and three American Indian reservations. Advocates say the successful program not only distributes domestically grown fruits and vegetables in schools, it also educates students on the importance of eating healthy and preventing diet-related chronic diseases.
Children can receive a free fruit or vegetable snack at participating schools in Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington and also at Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico, the Intertribal Council in Arizona and the Ogala Sioux Tribe of Pine River Reservation in South Dakota.
The current program provides $1 million to each of the eight states and schools on three Indian reservations. United has been urging lawmakers to add another $42 million to expand the program to the remaining states, and the group was hoping -- at press time -- to secure the funds when the committee considers the USDA spending bill on June 23.
