Tester: COOL ruling a ‘slap in the face’ to Montanans

(U.S. SENATE) – Senator Jon Tester today released the following statement after the World Trade Organization affirmed its ruling against Country of Origin Labeling for meat.  Tester is a strong supporter of COOL, which requires retailers to clearly label where meat was born, raised, and processed:

“This irresponsible ruling allows big meat companies to undercut Montana producers with cheap, foreign beef.  And it denies consumers the right to know where their meat comes from.  That’s not fair trade, it’s a slap in the face to Montana ranchers and consumers.”

Testerreaffirmed his support for COOL in March, declaring the U.S. Trade Representative’s appeal of the World Trade Organization’s original ruling ‘a responsible decision on behalf of American producers.’

In December, Tester urged U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to appeal, saying that the labeling system “provides important and useful information to consumers while not placing an undue burden on the industry.”

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