No Farm Bill without COOL!

Despite overwhelming public support for mandatory country of origin labeling (MCOOL) for beef, U.S. Senators Charles Grassley and Joni Ernst are missing in action. After multiple phone calls, letters and in-person lobby visits, they’re refusing to support the American Beef Labeling Act (S. 52) in the next Farm Bill. For all intents and purposes, they’re siding with the corporate meatpackers who’ve been rigging the system against family farmers and consumers.

The American Beef Labeling Act has strong bipartisan support in Congress.  It’s a straightforward solution to the continued problem of cattle and beef imports. It would reinstate MCOOL by requiring all beef sold in grocery stores to have a label showing where it was born, raised, and processed. It waould allow consumers to choose U.S. raised beef and support American family farmers and our local economies.  And it would prevent meatpacking monopolies from driving down prices paid to farmers when they import massive amounts of beef, repackage it, and label it as a product of the U.S.A.

Putting labels on products is not a new idea.  Many imports already have MCOOL. Imported fruits and vegetables are required to show what country they were imported from. Our clothing has country of origin labeling. Why are corporate meatpackers able to get by without labeling their imported beef?  Is it because they have a lot of power in the political arena?

We need to keep the pressure on Sens Grassley and Ernst to get on board with MCOOL. And we can do that with a strong, unanimous resolution from the Iowa Legislature.  Lawmakers in South Dakota and Montana did it in recent years, and it’s working for them. We can do it in Iowa, too!

That’s why family farmers like me and other Iowa CCI members are calling on House Speaker Pat Grassley (R-New Hartford) and House Agriculture Committee Chair Mike Sexton (R-Rockwell City) to use their considerable influence to make it happen.  We want them to introduce, support and pass a resolution in the Iowa Legislature showing strong bipartisan support for MCOOL – and telling Congress “No Farm Bill Without COOL”.

The case for restoring MCOOL is simple. When MCOOL for beef was fully implemented in 2013-2015, American cattle producers were receiving record prices for their superior beef. Since its repeal, cattle farmers have been receiving low prices while consumers are paying high prices and are not guaranteed a true Product of the U.S.A.

Compare that with the last five years. According to USDA’s recently released Census of Agriculture, the U.S. has lost 107,000 beef cattle operations and the domestic herd has lost 2.5 million animals.

One reason why so many family farmers have left the cattle business is cheap imports, primarily from Mexico and Central and South America. In 2023 alone, the U.S. imported nearly 2 million beef cattle and more than 3 billion pounds of boxed beef. Why are we importing so much beef when we’re not taking care of our own farmers?

We need MCOOL in the Farm Bill, period.  It’ll help family farmers, consumers and our local economies. Contact House Speaker Pat Grassley (pat.grassley@legis.iowa.gov) and House Ag Committee chair Mike Sexton (mike.sexton@legis.iowa.gov) today. Tell them you support an MCOOL resolution at the Statehouse. Tell them No Farm Bill Without COOL!

Barb Kalbach is a 4th generation family farmer, Registered Nurse, and board president of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. Barb can be reached at barbnealkalbach@gmail.com.