07/20/05 C.O.O.L poll

A new public opinion poll was just released concerning country-of-origin labeling or COOL. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be right back to tell you some results. Lake Snell Perry Mermin, and Associates surveyed One thousand four adults for the consumer group Public Citizen, to analyze several questions about origin of their food. Eighty-five percent say they want country-of-origin labeling. Seventy-four percent feel Congress should make labeling mandatory and fifty-five percent have little trust that the food industry will voluntarily provide COOL labeling. The House of Representatives just voted to again delay mandatory labeling for meat. Public Citizen hopes the Senate, which will debate COOL soon, listens to what consumers are saying and reject the provisions in the agricultural appropriations bill that would delay mandatory COOL for meat until 2007. Most beef packers, some agricultural economists, and beef procurers for major outlet chains say mandatory labeling will cost the cattle industry too much money and will not help the sale of more U.S. beef. These experts might be right, but I really believe consumers want to know the origin of their food purchases. I know people used to ask us where they could buy ranch raised beef because they liked it. Now the question is where can they get ranch raised beef and the reason they ask is because they like it and they especially want to know where the beef comes from. I can see the consumer trend; I don't know why Congress and a few others can't. I'm Jeff Keane.