What does MCOOL (Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling) mean for me or how does MCOOL effect me?
Before I get into MCOOL, I should give you a bit of background about myself. I grew up Texas around cattle, my father had a diary when I was a kid. My Grandparents and their parents raised cattle and I'm still here running the ranch.
I am cow/calf producer what most people think of when you say cattle rancher. Basically I have a herd of moma cows with few bulls and they produce calves. I then sell the calves around 7 to 9 months old. Every year I get new crop of calves from the mommas.
I sell to cattle to backgrounders or feeders through the use of sale barns. These backgrounders will continue to raise the calves until there ready to be harvested or raised up to be momma cows. Once sold I don't have any control of what happens to them.
So, how does MCOOL effect me? Maybe I should be asking is how does imported cattle effect me?
First without mandatory labeling, packers are passing off beef from outside the US by tricky labeling. Maybe not tricky more like just dishonest. Why wouldn't that make someone upset? To have a product passed off as yours when it's not.
It also overall cheapens my product. Bringing in cheap imports, lowers the quality of beef here in our stores. These aren't savings they passing on to the consumer. Not at all. In the last few years the price of meat at the store has increases while cattle prices have dropped.
Lastly, I really dont like the idea of depending on forgein companies to produce our food supply. We have most of pharmaceuticals made outside the US now. This is putting many of our most important items in the hands our countries.
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