Product Of

You might know that I've found the whole idea of Canadian Cattle producers getting upset over American <acronym title="Country of Origin Labeling">COOL</acronym> as funny. Mostly because it doesn't seem right for them to be upset over internal American Policy. Now I have another reason to think their behavior is funny. Canada has it's own <acronym title="Country of Origin Labeling">COOL</acronym> law. It might work a little different from the one being worked on in the US, but they have one.<br />n<br />nThe way their law works, it allows them to label such things as <a href="http://agpolicy.org/weekcol/376.html">coffee and olives,</a> crops not grown in Canada, as a "Product of Canada." How interesting. Their law allows such a label as long as 51% of labor or material is in the final product and the final product is a new and identifiable product.<br />n<br />nSo, under Canadian law, they could take US ground beef, which under present <acronym title="Country of Origin Labeling">COOL</acronym> legislation would have a label such as "product of USA, Canada and Mexico, reform it into hamburger patties, add some spices and they could call it a "Product of Canada." Then they want to complain about American <acronym title="Country of Origin Labeling">COOL</acronym>? I laugh at them.<br />n<br />nI guess what is really funny about this is how it highlights the problems with the proposed <acronym title="Country of Origin Labeling">COOL</acronym> law that is in the hopper now. The packer could grind up a bunch of ground beef from cattle that originated in Mexico and Canada with no cattle from the US and slap a label on it that says "Product of USA, Mexico and Canada" and it would be perfectly legal. Not much better than Canada's system is it.<br />n<br />nAgain, I will point out that I am not a fan of <acronym title="Country of Origin Labeling">COOL</acronym>. A true <acronym title="Country of Origin Labeling">COOL</acronym> program would cost me a lot of money and not net me much in the end. The compromise that is in the hopper now will not cost me much, but is not really <acronym title="Country of Origin Labeling">COOL</acronym> as the proponents mean it to be like my example shows. I am happy for the compromise since it doesn't hurt me as a producer in the field but how much the present system will help consumers, I don't know.<br />n<br />n<strong>A person who is gifted sees the essential point and leaves the rest as surplus. Thomas Carlyle </strong>