COOL hand

News of the USDA reopening the comment period for the mandatory country of origin law was met with muted enthusiasm by industry leaders I talked with today. They say the process may be helpful, but the USDA rulemaking on the mandatory law have been insufficient. Everyone seems to agree that the the current mandatory labeling law needs to be repealed, replaced with a compromise voluntary plan with mandatory triggers that the industry coalesced around last year.

What remains to be seen if the House Agriculture Committee will advance the idea of the industry compromise. As one industry leader pointed out, such a plan has no strong attraction for either opponents or proponents of country of origin labeling. Like ties in sports or kissing your sister, the industry's compromise plan lacks basic appeal.

On June 5, House Ag Committee chairman Collin Peterson, ranking member Rep. Bob Goodlatte and Ag Committee ranking member Sen. Saxby Chambliss sent a letter to meat industry officals with "an official request for your participation and commitment to an industry stakeholder process to address country of origin labeling for meat sold at retail."

"We believe there is an opportunity to refine the current law prior to its scheduled enactment on Sept. 30, 2008."

Will such a letter be sent to the produce industry leaders? Not likely, since the industry already has a solution in hand. Given the shots they are sure to take from consumer advocates, the question for lawmakers is how hard they will work to advance the hybrid approach.