Oct 15, 2003 12:00 PM,
by Joe Vansickle, Senior Editor (952) 851-4670; jvansickle@primediabusiness.com
Legislation to streamline the current country-of-origin (COOL) law offered by Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) does little to solve problems and will still cost U.S. pork producers with no apparent benefits, says National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) President Jon Caspers.
“While the Peterson bill is an admirable attempt to fix the existing COOL law, it does nothing to address the fundamental concerns that pork producers have about this legislation,” says the NPPC leader. “The fact that this bill attempts to find a solution to this burdensome and costly law demonstrates that there are problems with it.”
Peterson's HR 3083 removes the current law's audit verification section and mandates the Agriculture Department to use existing producer records for compliance verification. Peterson's bill also bans third-party audits aimed at verifying producer compliance.
There was a lot to be positive about in the pork industry the last week of October. I realize it is difficult to be optimistic when you are still losing $25 to $30/head. I also realize that positive news at this point could be as dangerous as it is welcome. But facts are facts, and we must recognize them.
...
As I begin this week's column, I"m reminded of two different "flip side" statements that may help characterize the topic at hand. The first is the old Archie Campbell schtick - "That's good - no that’s bad," which I have used before. The second reflects President Truman's frustration with economists' incessant use of the qualifier - "on the other hand" - to introduce the contrary opinion on a given topic. President Truman once demanded in his usual colorful language: "Will someone please find me a *!&%$*?>
