On Oct. 1, UFCW International President Marc Perrone issued a statement regarding news that the United States, Mexico and Canada reached an agreement (USMCA) to change parts of the North American Free Trade Agreement that excludes Country of Origin Labeling (COOL). COOL requires meat sold at retail to have a label informing consumers of the country where the product was sourced. The top five meat producing states that would benefit from COOL are Iowa, North Carolina, Texas, Georgia and Arkansas.
Perrone’s statement reads as follows:
“A trade agreement without COOL is terrible for sustainable jobs and food safety.
“Every hard-working family deserves to know where their food comes from.
“Keeping this information hidden endangers our health and destroys middle class meat processing jobs across our country.
“We urge the U.S. Trade Representative to do the right thing and take immediate steps to ensure COOL is included in a final agreement.”