Old McDonald's hoax resurfaces; Canada goes to WTO over COOL

Washington Ag Today October 9, 2009 A chain email accusing McDonald’s of turning its back on U.S. beef producers and buying most of its lean beef from overseas has been showing up in email boxes. Tip Hudson with Washington State University Extension in Kittitas County reports he’s been forwarded the email from people who believe the claim.

Hudson says the McDonald’s email is a hoax. The accusation first showed up in emails in 2002. It was a hoax then and it is now.

This is for real; the Canadian government has announced it is requesting the World Trade Organization to create a Dispute Settlement Panel to rule on the United States’ mandatory Country-of-Origin labeling law. John Masswohl with the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association says the organization commends its government’s decision.

Masswohl: “We have been to Washington many times and we are just sensing that there isn‘t any interest in the U.S. to resolve this COOL issue. That is why we have felt for quite some time now that the only way to address it is through the WTO. We have been working with the government officials, government lawyers, on putting that strategy together.”

Masswohl says they believe COOL has cost Canadian cattle producers a quarter of a billion dollars over the past year.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk responded to the Canadian action saying they believe the U.S. implementation of COOL provides information to consumers in a manner consistent with WTO commitments.

I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Northwest Ag Information Network.

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