Stand behind country of origin labeling

The idea of eating more food that is locally grown has been gaining popularity both in Iowa and across the country. Consumers want to know more about the food on their plates, where it comes from and how it was raised. Farmers markets, Community Supported Agriculture and local food cooperatives allow consumers to meet the farmers raising their food, reviving a lost sense of connection to the food we eat and the farm families who grow it.

Recognizing this trend, Congress in 2002 passed a food labeling law known as Country of Origin Labeling. This highly popular and common-sense law has resulted in many of the fruits, vegetables, nuts and cuts of meat on grocery store shelves being labeled with the name of the country where the food was produced, providing consumers with basic information they want about the food they eat.

While most of COOL was implemented without controversy, the provisions related to the labeling of beef and pork have had to survive a series of unsuccessful court challenges from multinational meatpackers. Those same provisions of COOL now face a final hurdle at the World Trade Organization. Canada and Mexico - the two largest trade competitors of the U.S. - brought the WTO suit, and a decision is due to be released within a matter of weeks. As expected, the meatpackers have used the pending WTO decision to pressure Congress to fully repeal COOL. Having stood by COOL through years of court challenges and well-financed lobbying campaigns, Congress should not abandon consumers by pushing the panic button now.

Here's why. First, the U.S. may prevail in its case before the WTO. The claims made by Canada and Mexico - already limited to the labeling of beef and pork - has been narrowed significantly by prior WTO rulings. Congress should not react (or overreact) to a decision they haven't read yet. Second, even if Canada and Mexico prevail on some part of the remaining claim, they would still have to prove that COOL has adversely impacted their livestock exports to the U.S. And that will not be easy to do. A recent study authored by Auburn University Alfa Eminent Scholar of Agricultural Policy Dr. C. Robert Taylor found that the economic collapse of 2008 - not COOL - caused the temporary dip in Canadian beef exports to the U.S. by sapping consumer demand for more expensive meat products.

COOL has proved extremely popular with both consumers and U.S. farmers and ranchers who believe in the quality of the food they produce. Similar laws have been adopted around the globe, as consumers push to know more about the food they eat. The European Union, Australia - and even Canada - have enacted their own COOL laws. The political climate around food is clearly shifting toward increased transparency and more consumer information. In a world where people want to meet the farmer who raised the pork loin sitting on the dinner table, labeling food with its country of origin seems like a pretty elementary step in the process. The WTO will face mounting pressure to recognize consumers' right to know and so should the Congress that passed COOL in the first place.

' Jana Linderman, of Cedar Rapids, is the president of the Iowa Farmers Union. Comments: jlinderman@iowafarmersunion.org