USDA COOL Listening Session
Sacramento, California, June 12, 2003
Statement by R-CALF United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA)
Presented by Bill Bullard, C.E.O., R-CALF USA

Hello, I’m Bill Bullard, C.E.O. of R-CALF USA, the national cattle association that worked with Congress to help write and then pass Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL).    We represent 8700 individual cattle producers in 43 states along with 43 local and state cattle associations in 18 states. 

The COOL law is well written, giving USDA authority to regulate retailers and those who supply covered commodities to retailers; but withholding authority to regulate cattle producers.  Instead, Congress directed USDA to the National School Lunch Act (School Lunch Act) to demonstrate how USDA is to accurately verify the origins of livestock at the point of slaughter. 

The School Lunch Act is the ideal model for verifying whether livestock were born and raised in the U.S. or if they originated in a foreign country.  The School Lunch Act uses a proven, reliable system to substantiate origin claims without imposing a single cost; requiring a single record; or requiring a single self certification from cattle producers; and, without requiring a mandatory identification system or violating either trade or domestic laws.

To substantiate an origin claim under the School Lunch Act, USDA employs an “Input Marking System:”

1. It uses existing authority under international trade law, Article IX of GATT 1994 and Article 3 of the WTO Agreement on Rules of Origin, which allow all countries to identify imported cattle and beef with a mark of origin.

2. It uses existing domestic law, the Tariff Act of 1930 and the Federal Meat Inspection Act, which require all imported beef products to be marked as to country of origin.    

3. It uses the exception contained in the Tariff Act of 1930 to affirmatively identify livestock imported directly for slaughter without requiring a foreign marking.

USDA then employs a “Presumption of Domestic Origin.” It identifies all inputs that do not meet the definition of “Domestic Only Product.”   

                                                               i.      It rejects inputs marked with a foreign marking.

                                                             ii.      It rejects inputs imported directly for slaughter.      

                                                            iii.      It considers all other inputs to be raised in the United States.

Congress expects USDA to use the School Lunch Act model to verify livestock origins. This is a fool-proof system for verifying the born and raised standard for COOL.   

USDA can determine which livestock are marked or unmarked at the point of slaughter.  The absence of a foreign mark would be affirmative evidence that the livestock did not pass through the U.S. border and, therefore, could be none other than born and raised in the U.S.  There is no risk of error, assuming proper enforcement by customs.    

USDA already requires Mexican cattle to be marked.  Because of worldwide cattle health problems, it can require foreign markings on all imported cattle.  However, we’re asking USDA to work with the Department of Treasury to remove livestock from the J-list, thereby achieving the same result.

Cattle are not covered commodities and cattle producers do not supply covered commodities to retailers.  The law is clear.  USDA’s jurisdiction begins at the point of slaughter and the National School Lunch program provides the ideal model to verify origin in accordance with the law.  From slaughter and beyond, USDA can use its proposed verifiable record keeping trail.  We urge you to implement COOL accordingly.

Independent cattle producers understand that they will either be regulated by the dominant market participants in our industry or by our democratic form of government.  We’ve chosen the latter.  Don’t let us down. 

Thank you.

Interested in advertising on this website? Contact Laurel for more information.
Reach R-CALF USA at 406-252-2516

                            This page was last updated on Wednesday, October 12, 2011.