Disinformation About Country-of-Origin Labeling of Beef – NCBA and Farm Bureau speak for meat monopoly, not U.S.
The reason we do not have Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) for beef is because of relentless opposition from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF). Vegetables, fruit, seafood, poultry, and even lamb are labeled and have been since the passage of the 2002 Farm Bill – with zero controversy.
It is hard to understand why these organizations which claim to represent farmers and ranchers, are in this instance, the public voice for the beef packing monopoly and the multi-national supermarket cartel. Every argument opposing COOL made by the NCBA and the AFBF through the years have proven to be false, but the disinformation continues. For instance, they say:
- We don’t need COOL because the beef is already labeled. The USDA inspection label on the packages of beef is just that – inspection – nothing to do from which country the meat was imported.
- Cattle are ear-tagged, therefore everyone already knows it comes from US cattle. Ranchers are, thankfully, not required to ear tag steers and heifers going to feedlots. Therefore, the beef that we export is not identified, and could just as well be beef that we imported and reexported – claiming that it is of American origin.
- Would like a voluntary program instead. Packers and retailers can “voluntarily” label the beef as having been derived from cattle born and raised in the USA and have always had that option. That packers and retailers do not “voluntarily” label because as much as a third of the beef in the meat case has been imported. Consumers assume that the beef is domestic and end up paying a higher price for imported beef that does not meet the same health standards as US beef. All other food in the grocery stores is “mandatorily” labeled and no one complains.
- COOL would disrupt the importation of lean beef that is needed for the hamburger market. We import lower quality lean hamburger beef which is blended with the excess fat from feedlot cattle. Cattle producers in this country sell cull cows and dairy cattle, meat also needing the addition of extra fat. Why not label it as such and let the consumer choose?
- Consumers really don’t care about the country of origin of their beef. If a COOL label means nothing to consumers than there would be no reason to not label. It is precisely because consumers do care, that the packers and retailers refuse to label. They make money by defrauding the consumers. Eighty seven percent of consumers when polled say they would like to know.
- Concerned that the COOL bill is not properly worded. If that is the worry, read the proposed bills and contact your Congressional representative with suggested revisions. Majority Leader Thune’s bill is called the American Beef Labeling Act, while Representative Hageman’s bill is the Country-of-Origin Labeling Enforcement Act of 2025.
Because of the incessant opposition from the NCBA and the AFBF, Montana ranchers have been cheated out of billions of dollars while consumers pay more than they should for low quality imported beef. The time is now to have COOL reinstated. The Majority Leader from South Dakota and the Representative from Wyoming have proposed bills to restore COOL. However, except for Representative Zinke, the Montana delegation refuses to support COOL.
Senator Daines, Senator Sheehy, and Representative Downing give no concrete reason why they are not sponsors of the COOL bills. Even ranchers affiliated with the NCBA and AFBF are overwhelmingly in favor in reinstating COOL. The cattle industry is one quarter of Montana’s economy, so COOL is not a trivial matter. When COOL was rescinded by Congress in 2015 the cattle market collapsed by forty percent. That was a personal loss for ranchers of $60,000 for each semi load of calves leaving the state for feedlots in Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, and Kansas. About a billion dollars a year has been stolen from Montana’s economy.
The beef packing monopoly and the gigantic grocery cartel, (Walmart, Albertsons, and Costco) benefit from not having to identify imported beef. Their campaign donations to our Congressional representatives are undoubtedly factors. Apparently, some of Montana’s Congressional delegation do not understand that we elected them to represent our interests, not those of multi-national corporations.
A coalition including the Montana Cattlemen’s Association, the Northern Plains Resource Council, the Montana Farmer’s Union, The Rancher’s Cattlemen’s Action Legal Fund, the United States Cattlemen’s Association, Montana Farmer’s Organization, the Intertribal Agriculture Council, and Abundant Montana all call for the restoration of COOL for beef. Go to MTCOOL.ORG and send Montana’s Congressional Delegation a message to remind them that they work for us, not the global corporations that overcharge consumers and steal from ranchers.
Consumers have the right to know the origin of their purchases, and ranchers have the right to a fair and transparent market. It is as simple as that.
Sincerely yours
Gilles Stockton
Montana Cattlemen’s Association Director
Grass Range, Mt.