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CA
Senate advances beef MCOOL even as Farm Bill stalls
['Don Jenkins']
Capital Press
The Senate Agriculture Committee amended the Farm Bill to direct the USDA and U.S. Trade Representative to devise mandatory country-of-origin labels on beef that will comply with international trade laws.
(USDA/Contributed)The Senate Agriculture Committee has added mandatory country-of-origin labels on beef packages to the Farm Bill, resurrecting a policy a World Trade Organization panel once ruled discriminated against foreign beef.
The amendment’s sponsor, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-SD, said not labeling beef “seems insane.”
Majority Republicans hoped to pass the entire Farm Bill, but Democrats blocked passage over a dispute related to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The Republican-controlled House didn’t include mandatory labels for beef in the version of the Farm Bill it passed in April.