Star Tribune: Meat Industry Launches Legal Assault against New U.S. Country of Origin Labeling Rules

[proverbialwisdom]

http://www.startribune.com/business/239522151.html

Meat Industry Launches Legal Assault against New U.S. Country of Origin Labeling Rules
By Jim Spencer
Star Tribune, January 10, 2014

WASHINGTON - The meat industry launched a legal assault Thursday against the nation's food labeling laws that, if successful, could significantly limit consumers' ability to learn the origins of what they eat.

The move came in a federal appeals court hearing where trade associations representing meat companies such as Minnesota-based Cargill Inc. and Hormel Foods Corp. attempted to kill new government labeling standards.

Their lawyer said the labeling rules violate companies' free speech by forcing them to reveal information that will not protect the public, but will cause "irreparable" financial harm to the largest segment of U.S. agriculture, which generates hundreds of billions of dollars a year in sales.

At issue are newly implemented U.S. Department of Agriculture rules that force meat producers and processors to list the countries where animals used in their products are born, raised and slaughtered.

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Link from: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29056.cfm

[djean111]

1. Why don't they just wait for the TPP?

The TPP will override the United States laws.

[peacebird]

2. We are lucky enough to know the man who raises the beef and pork we eat

We are fortunate. We pay more for free range, grass fed animals that are treated well but it is worth the price to keep our friend ( and local middle school teacher/farmer) in business doing what he loves. And it is good for our community to have a good clean source for meat.

[Recursion]

4. And oddly enough, he's not part of "the meat industry" in this sense

The meat packers and the meat husbanders are very much at odds on this (at least for beef and pork; chickens for the most part are owned by the packers from the moment they hatch).

[Faryn Balyncd]

5. "Their lawyer said the labeling rules violate companies' free speech.... "

no comment.










Edit:

On second thought, maybe it would violate Big Meat's "freedom of religion" too!