We appreciate the opportunity to come before your committee today to offer our views on country of origin labeling of meat products and the price reporting of livestock. We strongly support legislation that will require country of origin labeling for all products and for improved reporting of livestock prices. Country of Origin Labeling As trade increases and agricultural products both fresh and processed flow across international borders, U.S. consumers deserve to know where their food products originate. We strongly support the labeling of products, all the way to the retail outlet, as to its country of origin. We feel that consumers have the right to know where the food they are buying is produced in order to be able to distinguish American products from those produced in other countries.
Consumers have confidence in America's farmers and ranchers.
This allows them to buy products produced by their fellow Americans, and be assured that the products were produced in America. Consumer surveys indicate that the majority of consumers want to know the origination of their meat products. We feel that it is important to change the current practice of allowing cattle to be imported into the U.S. and then, when processed, carry the USDA inspection label. We feel that this practice misleads the American consumer into thinking they are buying a U.S.-produced product when in fact it was imported into this country. For example, imports of lamb to the United States have more than doubled in the last several years from seven to sixteen percent of consumption.