The Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF) is seeking to reinstate country-of-origin labeling (COOL) requirements in beef products. To that end, they have raised $50,000 and embarked on a campaign, the Label Our Beef campaign. They hope to convince President Donald Trump to sign an executive order reinstating mandatory COOL labeling for beef products.
Mike Schultz, chairman of R-CALF’s COOL Committee, says American farmers and ranchers are suffering because of COOL’s 2015 repeal. “Three simple words, ‘Product of USA,’ is the new metaphorical cash cow,” Schultz says. “When the COOL law was fully implemented from 2013 to 2015, American farmers and ranchers received $325 per calf more compared to the next two years when meatpackers were no longer required by law to label beef with its country-of-origin.” R-CALF recently delivered a petition to the president, signed by more than 30,000 people, requesting reinstatement of COOL.