Country of Origin Labeling Update

NCBA submitted comments to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on the

proposed amendments to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s live cattle futures contract regarding country of origin labeling. The proposals will require that “all cattle delivered on the futures contract must be born and raised exclusively in the United States,” and the seller must provide supporting documentation that conforms to industry standards at the time of delivery.

This CME proposal demonstrates that the mandatory labeling law could change, or even restructure, beef marketing and production.

NCBA has long recognized that mandatory labeling will cause disruptive changes. For this reason, NCBA supports an alternative approach to country of origin labeling that will avoid wholesale changes that are caused by mandatory labeling. Should the futures contract become the dumping ground for cattle whose beef is non-merchantable at the retail level, the price discovery and risk management purpose of the contract will be thwarted.