It isn’t yet clear exactly what labels — if any — will reveal country of origin in the next few years. The Iowa Farmers Union is hoping to help establish guidelines that help Jasper County farmers and the rest of Iowa’s agriculture the most.
The union, a trade organization, is headed by Jana Linderman. She and others recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to help fight to retain country-of-origin labeling, and to urge Congress not to pass any new COOL measures while some major World Trade Organization policies and penalties are still being discussed.
“We need basic standards in place, that can bring out honesty and integrity,” Linderman told the Newton Daily News after she returned from Washington. “And we need to ensure there aren’t loopholes, and that meat that’s labeled as American-raised stayed in the U.S. throughout slaughter and processing.”
As president of the union, Linderman is advocating on behalf of maintaining COOL requirements, and Congress moved on opposing pieces of legislation this summer. The moves regarding a voluntary labeling system are part of an effort to avoid trade retaliation by Canada and Mexico. This retaliation follows an adverse WTO ruling that took issue with U.S. labeling requirements for beef and pork.
“This isn’t our ideal outcome,” Linderman said. “We were unhappy with the WTO ruling. We were unhappy with the haste of the House repeal vote and now the attempt to force repeal through the Senate hidden in the highway bill. Including chicken in the repeal, when it was not part of the WTO ruling, is nothing more than a transparent giveaway to U.S. processors who think it might be a good idea to outsource part of their operations to China someday soon.”
The farmers union is encouraging both houses of Congress to pass S. 1844, known as the Hoeven-Stabenow bill, which was introduced in the Senate in late July, but has yet to even be make it past an agricultural subcommittee.
“The Hoeven-Stabenow bill gets us square with the WTO,” Linderman said. “If you look at the list of the dozen or more senators sponsoring this bill, these are longtime supporters of COOL, like Sen. (Chuck) Grassley.”
At the same time, an opposing bill, HR 2393, cleared the House by a June vote and has yet to be taken up by the Senate. HR 2393 calls for completely repealing “country of origin labeling requirements with respect to beef, pork, and chicken, and for other purposes.”
Voting on HR 2393 in the House went largely along party lines in the House. Iowa Republicans U.S. Sen. Steve King and U.S. Rep. David Young were among the 300 “yes” votes, and both are listed among the 82 sponsors of the bill. U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack — the lone Iowa Democrat in Congress this term — was among the 131 “no” votes.
There are other pieces of legislation affecting COOL issues as well. A Senate amendment to an Internal Revenue Code bill, introduced by U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kansas), would eliminate COOL altogether.
“The House repeal bill — and the Roberts repeal bill in the Senate — have been ridiculous in their haste, their overreach and their disrespect for U.S. consumers. It would be just as ridiculous for us not to take this opportunity to stand up for the integrity of our U.S. label; we have fought too long and too hard to let that happen.”
Following three days of meetings with U.S. Department of Agriculture leaders, key White House staff and nearly every Congressional and Senatorial official on Capitol Hill, the 275 Farmers Union members participating in the organization’s annual fall fly-in returned home.
The union also opposed any legislative changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard and urged Congress to reject the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The union also urged restoration of full trade and tourism with Cuba, and urged support of a Senate Agriculture Appropriations Amendment that requires a plan be in place before resuming trade with parts of Argentina and Brazil that have a history of Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks.
The Iowa Farmers Union has been working since 1915 to protect and enhance the economic well-being and quality of life for family farmers and rural communities, she said.
Three other Iowa Farmers Union members made the trek with Linderman to DC, including Aaron Lehman, Sally Gran and Ben Lehman.
“For decades upon decades, Farmers Union members have made an annual migration to Washington to make their case for smarter, fairer farm policies,” Linderman said. “The enthusiasm, passion and commitment are as strong today as they have ever been.”