Urges the United States Congress to reinstate mandatory country of origin labeling

SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION NO. 29
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE ELLIOTT .
4299H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
WHEREAS, American farmers and ranchers raise the best meat in the world; and
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3 WHEREAS, Americans should have the right to knowingly buy made-in-America
4 products; and
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6 WHEREAS, American farmers, ranchers, workers, and consumers benefit from
7 transparency on the origins of their food; and
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9 WHEREAS, consumers have repeatedly and overwhelmingly expressed their support
10 for country-of-origin labeling of food products in the United States; and
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12 WHEREAS, in 2008, the United States Congress overwhelmingly passed mandatory
13 country-of-origin labeling for muscle cuts and ground meat sold at retail, requiring meat
14 produced from imported livestock or imported boxed meat to bear a dif ferent label from meat
15 produced from United States born, raised, and slaughtered livestock; and
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17 WHEREAS, trade groups and the or ganizations representing multinational meat
18 packers worked predominantly with Canada, as well as Mexico, to bring a W orld T rade
19 Or ganization case against the United States for the removal of the country-of-origin labeling
20 requirements; and
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22 WHEREAS, in 2015, the United States Congress repealed the country-of-origin
23 labeling law for beef and pork, reducing the competitive advantage of products born, raised,
24 and slaughtered in the United States; and
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26 WHEREAS, the United States has the highest food safety standards in the world,
27 while other countries place less emphasis on food safety; and
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29 WHEREAS, foreign commodities such as beef and pork are misleadingly labeled
30 "Product of the USA" if they are processed or packed in the United States; and
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32 WHEREAS, country-of-origin labeling gives producers and consumers the ability to
33 distinguish truly American products from foreign imported meat; and
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35 WHEREAS, technological advancements make it possible to accurately and
36 ef ficiently identify the origins of beef and pork without costly separation of imported and
37 domestic commodities; and
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39 WHEREAS, country-of-origin labeling is good for farmers, ranchers, workers, and
40 meat packers because it allows them to identify their products as born, raised, and slaughtered
41 in the United States; and
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43 WHEREAS, the Missouri General Assembly supports American products, and
44 consumers have the right to know the origins of their food:
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46 NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOL VED that the members of the House of
47 Representatives of the One Hundred Third General Assembly , Second Regular Session, the
48 Senate concurring therein, hereby support the right of consumers to know the origins of their
49 food, support the use of country-of-origin labels, and ur ge the United States Congress to
50 reinstate mandatory country-of-origin labeling; and
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52 BE IT FUR THER RESOL VED that the Chief Clerk of the Missouri House of
53 Representatives be instructed to prepare a properly inscribed copy of this resolution for each
54 member of Missouri's Congressional delegation.
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HCR 29 2