This is truly a watershed moment for agriculture. Several bipartisan bills are moving through both chambers of Congress right now.
The American Beef Labeling Act, S.2716, is now under consideration in the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry committee. Simply put, it requires the U.S. Trade Representative and Department of Agriculture to work with the World Trade Organization to develop language to enable Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (M-COOL) for beef. If no deal is reached by the U.S. trade representative that satisfies the WTO within a year of enactment, S.2716 then becomes law and the U.S. will enjoy the benefits of M-COOL for beef.
It is sponsored by two Republicans and two Democrats. It makes so much sense for Americans to understand what country their beef originates from that even Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, who is a vegan, is one of the co-sponsors. This bill is not only good for agricultural producers, but consumers as well. It seems that regardless of the animosity in the nation’s capitol, politicians on both sides of the aisle can agree on food safety and agricultural issues. This may be due to the food shortages the U.S. has been experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The list goes on with bipartisan legislation being introduced and moving through Congress during this session. It seems that with all that the US and the world have gone through in the last 20 months that our elected officials in D.C. are taking food security seriously. Consumers are finally realizing that food doesn’t come from grocery stores, but family farms. The shortages that have occurred during COVID have shined a brighter light on agriculture and the need to create a market place where producers can be profitable. Contact your Senators and urge them to support these and other bills which aid agriculture.
