In
January 2004 with the passing of the Omnibus Appropriations Bill the date of mandatory
implementation of Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) was delayed until 2006. However,
government sector's efforts in designing and preparing implementation of COOL
should not be halted by the decision. The Congress' delay does not mean that the
project is dead. USDA should keep working on laying the groundwork for the immediate
implementation of COOL program in 2006. Under
the Farm Bill Congress passed two years ago, mandatory Country of Origin labels
were scheduled to appear in grocery stores on Sept. 30, 2004. Hence, on October
30, 2003, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service published a proposed rule (68
FR 61944) for the mandatory COOL program as mandated by Farm Bill. See
Proposed Rule 10/30/03 - Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling of Beef, Lamb, Pork,
Fish, Perishable Agricultural Commodities, and Peanuts. The comment period
was extended to February 27, 2004 and this comment program could be a good opportunity
for you to express you continuous support for the COOL program. National
Grange and many other farm organizations believe the mandatory COOL program could
give American farmers a competitive edge over foreign products and expect it allows
consumer choice and will bring better prices for U.S. producers. See
National Grange Action Alert 9/16/03 - Urge Your U.S. Representative and Senators
to Support the Country of Origin Labeling Provisions of the 2002 Farm Bill! Please
try to file your comments no later than Feb. 27, 2004 and say you want the USDA
to keep their job of planning for the implementation of the COOL program. Send
comments to: Country
of Origin Labeling Program, Room 2092-S
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS),
USDA, STOP 0249
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20250-0249
Fax: 202-720-3499
Email: cool@usda.gov
| Sample
comment: |
To
Whom It May Concern:
I
believe that USDA should keep working on designing workable Country of Origin
Labeling program for the immediate implementation in 2006 regardless of the fact
that Congress delayed the date of mandatory implementation of the program. Thank
you for your continuous support for the COOL program. Sincerely,
(Signature) (Name)__________________________
(Grange/Grange
name and number) __________________________ |
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