R-CALF USA

This is a campaign to get Congress to reinstate mandatory country of origin labeling (MCOOL) for beef, Senate Bill S.421. MCOOL will require all beef sold in grocery stores to be labeled with its country of origin. Current voluntary guidelines are ineffective as global corporations, who control over 85% of the beef market, choose not to label beef origins. MCOOL puts power back in the hands of consumers and supports the long-term survival of America’s farmers and ranchers.

We Need Your Help

Ask Your Senators to Cosponsor S.421

Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for each of your senators by name and urge them to cosponsor the American Beef Labeling Act S.421. They can call Senator Thune or Booker’s office to become a cosponsor. Continue making weekly calls and help generate more calls by asking your friends, relatives, neighbors, and others to make calls until your senators agree to cosponsor S.421, the American Beef Labeling Act.

If your senators are already cosponsors, thank them for their support! S.421 cosponsors include Sens. Thune (R-SD), Booker (D-NJ), Rounds (R-SD), Heinrich (D-NM), Lummis (R-WY), Fetterman (D-PA), Hoeven (R-ND), and Luján (D-NM).

Donate below or
Text MCOOL to 801801

Your donation supports texting 38,000 MCOOL supporters to urge Congress for MCOOL for beef. 

[Click Image to Enlarge]

Chart: MCOOL’s repeal in 2015 caused beef (blue) and cattle (red) prices to diverge. MCOOL will help restore the relationship between beef and cattle prices, provide consumers with more choices and pricing options, and regulate beef prices. 

Additional Resources

Congressional offices all follow Letters to the Editors in their newspapers. Write your own Letter to the Editor to newspapers in your state and include your Congressional Representatives’ names. Examples are below.

Stoneberg: Dear Editor, Why are some groups opposing MCOOL? | TSLN.com

Kimball Livestock Exchange: We support MCOOL | TSLN.com

Bentlage: Cattle ranchers need Congress help against big 4 meatpackers | The Kansas City Star

Stockton: Consumers overwhelmingly want country of origin labeling | Ravalli Republic (Mont.)

Bipartisan Beef – Opinion Editorials – U.S. Senator John Thune (senate.gov) **Share Sens. Thune and Tester’s Op-ed with your local newspaper.

Anderson: Support honest labeling of beef | Letters to the Editor | bismarcktribune.com

Stockton: USDA Labeling Fraud – Western Ag Reporter

Bullard: Beef Packers, Allies Urge Congress to Do Nothing in Face of Broken Cattle Markets

Evans: Label misleads: It’s time for transparency in meat production – WyoFile

Dunlap: It’s time to demand a fair and transparent marketing system Lewistown News-Argus (Mont.)

Bedell and Callicrate: Bennet and Hickenlooper should stand with Coloradans and support mandatory COOL | Opinion | montrosepress.com (Colo.)

Shammel: Letter to the editor: Support Country of Origin labeling | Letters to the Editor | billingsgazette.com (Mont.)

Luke: The American beef industry is at a crossroad – Jamestown Sun | News, weather, sports from Jamestown (N.Dak.)

Shwalbe: Letter: Protect ranchers, consumers with beef labeling | Letters to the Editor | bismarcktribune.com (N.Dak.)

Opinion: Dockter: Who supports ND beef? | TSLN.com (N.Dak.)

Iversen: Concentration in the marketplace | TSLN.com (S.Dak.)

O’Shaughnessy: Where’s the beef (from)? | Rome Daily Sentinel (romesentinel.com) (N.Y.)

Dockter: We need MCOOL | TSLN.com (N.Dak.)

Paulsen: MCOOL and 50/14 Letter to the Editor Crofton Journal (Neb.) 

Hyde: Top Issue is Food Security Herald-Star (Ohio)

Share the Resolution to Support Mandatory COOL for Beef (available here) with your state legislator or Tribal Council and ask them to introduce it in your state legislative session. 

So far, the South Dakota State Legislature and the Navajo Nation Council have passed Resolutions to Support MCOOL.

10.14.2022 MCOOL update | TSLN.com

8.30.2022 Advocates of COOL for beef see a pathway to success – if Senate acts | InsideTrade.com (Sign up for the free trial to view.)

8.16.2022 Opinion: Bipartisan beef | Agri-Pulse Communications, Inc. by Sens. Thune (R-SD) and Tester (D-MT)

4.25.2022 Hard-Fought Battle Continues Over Beef Country-of-Origin Labeling (dtnpf.com)

4.18.2022 – The Return of COOL? Legislation Would Resurrect Origin Labeling for Meat | The Daily Yonder

4.7.2022 – House members sponsor MCOOL legislation – Tri-State Livestock News

2.3.2022 – Willie Nelson’s Farm Aid endorses reinstatement of mandatory COOL for beef | Food Safety News

-1.26.2022 – VIDEO – KX News North Dakota: I-BAND President pushing to revive mandatory Country of Origin Labeling

-1.24.2022 – VIDEO – NBC KNOP News 2: Working Toward Change in the Cattle Industry R-CALF wants change before the industry “disappears”

-1.24.2022 – PODCAST – News & Views with Joel Heitkamp: Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling with DRC and I-BAND 

-1.7.2022 – VIDEO – Fox News Tomi Lahren: Ranchers and consumers losing money because of foreign meat imports

-12.21.2021 – PRESS RELEASE – Ranch Group Applauds Navajo Nation’s Support of MCOOL

-12.17.2021 – PRESS RELEASE – Colorado Ranchers Raise More Than $24K for MCOOL, 50/14

-12.14.2021 – ARTICLE – Farm & Ranch Freedom Alliance – Can we please just know what country our meat comes from?

-12.11.2021 – ARTICLE – US News by Associated Press – Navajo ranchers want imported beef labeled

-11.24.2021 – PRESS RELEASE – Platte South Dakota Area Pours Support Over Ranch Group (Raises over $14K for MCOOL.)

-09.17.2021 – EDITORIAL – Rapid City Journal – Thune: Real American Beef

-09.09.2021 – PRESS RELEASE – Bipartisan American Beef Labeling Act Would Reinstate Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling

-09.09.2021 – PRESS RELEASE – Tester Announces Bipartisan Legislation Ensuring American Beef is Labeled ‘Product of USA’

-09.08.2021 – PRESS RELEASE – Rounds, Thune, Colleagues Announce Bipartisan American Beef Labeling Act to Reinstate Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling

Buy or Sell US Born, Raised & Processed Beef

Until Congress passes the MCOOL law for beef, connect directly with US cattle producers at www.USABeef.org.

About R-CALF USA: R-CALF USA is the nation’s largest producer-only trade association representing the U.S. cattle industry. Our mission is to ensure the continued profitability and independence of U.S. cattle producers. We’re the ones who helped lead the victory to get the mandatory country of origin labeling (MCOOL) law passed in 2002 before it was repealed for beef and pork in 2015. Our efforts still help fruit, vegetable, fish, chicken, lamb and nut farmers win back their markets because all these commodities remain under the MCOOL law.

Latest MCOOL News Highlights

For Immediate Release: May 8, 2025 Contact: R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard Phone: 406-252-2516; r-calfusa@r-calfusa.com   Please find below R-CALF
For Immediate Release: April 10, 2025 Contact: R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard Phone: 406-252-2516; r-calfusa@r-calfusa.com   Please find below R-CALF
To: R-CALF USA Members and Affiliates From: Bill Bullard, CEO, R-CALF USA Date: March 4, 2025 Subject: Getting MCOOL Cosponsors is a

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