Injunction Against Country of Origin Labelling Struck Down
US - National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson has issued a statement after receiving news of the District Court of Appeals’ en banc decision on a challenge to enforce Country-of-Origin Labelling (COOL) by multinational meatpackers and foreign competitors.
31 July 2014
2 minute read
By: Mr Johnson said: "By a nine-two majority, the panel upheld an earlier three-judge panel decision to deny an appeal to halt the enforcement of the popular labelling law, passed in 2008.
"NFU, and our broad coalition of consumer and producer organisations, have achieved yet another victory in our long battle to uphold the enforcement of the COOL regulation as modified by the US 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 US livestock producers the opportunity to differentiate their products, which they are proud to claim as theirs."
