Push for COOL still on in Washington

On March 13, the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA) and the Cattle Producers of Washington made arguments in a pivotal hearing on their lawsuit to reinstate a section of the recently repealed country-of-origin labeling law (COOL) that required beef and pork imported from foreign countries to retain their origin labels all the way to the consumer. The argument for granting summary judgment took place in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington in Spokane, WA. The suit alleges that the USDA is knowingly violating U.S. law by not requiring meatpackers to carry forward the country-of-origin labels that are on the packages and containers when meat is imported. — WLJ