When ZeroHedge asked leading voices in the MAHA Ag Movement how the Trump administration could partner with America’s farmers and ranchers – an industry that rarely agrees on anything – unanimously agreed that restoring Country Of Origin Labeling (COOL) is a top priority.
In the years leading up to 2015, the USDA was trusted by consumers and ranchers to fairly grade and label meat – giving only the most prime “product of the U.S.A.” its stamp of approval.
“Throughout 2013 and 2014, beef and cattle prices rose to the highest nominal levels in history, and cattle producers were finally recovering a profit from the marketplace itself,” said Bill Bullard, CEO of R-CALF USA.
Advocates point to these profit increases as evidence that consumers prefer to buy meat raised in the United States when given product transparency. However, it wasn’t long before the “Big 4” corporate meat Packers convinced Mexico and Canada to file a trade barrier complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Starting in 2015, Congress capitulated to the demands of the Big 4 and the WTO, sullying consumer confidence in the USDA’s stamp with cheap imports.
In 2022, some progress was made with the American Beef Labeling Act, introduced by then-Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD). However, the legislation still allows a sizable caveat for the Big 4 corporate meatpackers who own 85% of the livestock marketplace—and growing.
In 2009 It became mandatory to know what country our beef came from via the MCOOL (Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling) policy overseen by the USDA
In 2015, under the Obama administration it was removed supposedly over concerns from the WTO ( World Trade Organization)
As we…
— Dr Shawn Baker 🥩 (@SBakerMD) May 10, 2025
“Products materially altered or transformed within the borders of the United States,” are still allowed to be stamped and approved by the USDA as a “Product of the U.S.A.” This includes frozen meat imports, or live animals that have been raised in another country, so long as they’re processed or packaged in the United States.
The result of this form of plagiarism has been catastrophic for American farmers and ranchers, with domestic cattle volumes at a 70-year low and the United States losing farms at the rapid rate of 77 per hour.
With recent promises from the Trump administration, and talks of partnerships to Make America Healthy Again, COOL became the central focus during a press conference with the new Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture.
During the presser, Chairman John Boozman (R-AK) – a former optometrist – signaled that he might not be seeing eye-to-eye with America’s farmers.
“No, you know, that’s a, that’s such a, it’s a controversial issue,” Boozman responded to the question of restoring COOL in the Farm Bill.
“So that’s another issue we need to look at in the Farm Bill, and work through, just to see what the ramifications are. So many times you do things and then they have unintended consequences. So, in order to make a decision, and times change, uh, thinking changes. Sometimes you do need to change the direction you’re going in. But, you need to do that, or something like that with, you know, by having hearings and really understanding exactly what the ramifications would be one way or another.”
The MAHA report, outlining solutions, is expected to be released by August. Policy outlines will be considered as the bicameral Agricultural Committees draft their new versions of the Farm Bill—expected sometime in September.
Restore transparency on supermarket shelves—otherwise, consumers will lose trust and turn to cleaner beef alternatives.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 05/29/2025 – 18:00
