Two options offered in Senate for COOL repeal

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS), and 10 Republican senators, filed an amendment to a highway funding bill late yesterday that would repeal mandatory labeling for beef, pork and poultry. It is identical to country-of-origin-labeling (COOL) legislation (H.R. 2393) that passed the House in early June by a vote of 300-131. Earlier Thursday, committee ranking member Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) introduced a measure that also is now being considered as an amendment to the highway bill and would instead offer meat processors a voluntary approach to labeling.  The bill would put the onus of deciding to label on packers, as opposed to retailers.  Read More