Posted on 06/11/2015 6:42:36 AM PDT by Enlightened1
WASHINGTON (AP) — Under threat of trade retaliation from Canada and Mexico, the House has voted to to repeal a law requiring country-of-origin labels on packages of beef, pork and poultry.
The World Trade Organization rejected a U.S. appeal last month, ruling the labels that say where animals were born, raised and slaughtered are discriminatory against the two U.S. border countries. Both have said they plan to ask the WTO for permission to impose billions of dollars in tariffs on American goods.
The House voted 300-131 to repeal labels that tell consumers what countries the meat is from — for example, "born in Canada, raised and slaughtered in the United States" or "born, raised and slaughtered in the United States."
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.myway.com ...
Perfect example of why the USA needs strong tariffs.
same with our prescription medicines....
I was told many many have foreign components & if not actually manufactured in a foreign country....is essentially foreign made & sent here to be labled or bottled.
Would love to know who voted against this?
And you will also know if animal feces was used in places like Mexico to fertilize your vegetables without taking to time to turn it into usable safe compost - putting you in danger of e coli which is not merely a superficial contamination which can be simply washed off - but a contamination that has grown up into the vegetable itself.
I found that my frozen asparagus, among many other things, was from China...
Not any longer...I will absolutely NOT purchase anything that goes into my mouth, or the dog’s mouth that originates from China...
If I cannot tell where it is from, I will not purchase it. Period.
I see a bunch of dead people in our future from contaminated food products...we’ve already had our “canary in the coal mine” with the dead pets as a result of Chinese malfeasance...came close with the melamine in baby formula, how many funerals is it gonna take?
This is good for China.
Most people are repelled if they see “Made in China” on their packages of horse meat.
True but the labeling should be clear. We all know a “Made in USA” item will have foreign components. We also know that an unlabeled leg of lamb may be from New Zealand, but it may also be from a country we would not trust. I’m not a fan or most import/export restrictions, but I’m a big fan of providing consumer information (although not the network of nutrition labels at restaurants - no one orders from Cheesecake Factory thinking it’s health food!).
The simple solution to that is ... don’t buy their product.
It’s pretty obvious most of the “our side” guys must have Hastertisms in their past... It’s the only reasonable explanation for this sorry lot of douchebags actions over the last few cycles...
That’s fine if you can do without their product.
But, more and more, my vegetables and fruits....ie, broccoli, watermelon, cucumbers, etc are from Mexico......(although I am seeing more local grown now that it is summer....)..but hey, it’s always summer I live in Florida
But in the frozen foods it’s almost ALL Mexico all the way......
All broccoli
Mixed veggies......products like Green Giant, etc
frozen fruits.....corn......Mexico! Mexico
And don’t get me started on the cookies and candy.....Mexico!
This is NAFTA comrades. Now we have to bend to the WTO. Its called ceding national sovereignty. If you like this you will luv TPP.
“Why are the feds interested in hiding what country our food came from?”
Because all the crap from Mexico and China sits on the shelf as nobody wants to buy it. We look at every label. If its not US or Canada we don’t buy it.
The govt knows we are not stupid.
We are going to start buying our beef in bulk from a local rancher. Its more expensive but at least you know what is is and how it was processed. Buy only locally produced fruits and veggies. Start a garden.
If its not labeled let it sit on the shelf and rot.
My guess is that the foreign countries bribed the American Congress so they can dump there second rate product. Mexican meat fly’s and all. How about some Chinese fish feed human crap!
True that. But if this one-world stuff continues, eventually there will be few good choices. Most will be at some level of bad.
My once-favorite toothbrush was Oral-B. It is now made in China, and the last one I used had a funny smell that wouldn't go away. So I called Oral-B. They said I just got a hold of one bad toothbrush. Well, maybe.
So now I use a Colgate toothbrush, made in Switzerland of all places. But in the long term how can they compete price-wise with a toothbrush made in China? Perhaps their brand name will see them through, but I kind of doubt it.
As I pondered, is this law to lift labeling requirements or to punish those who DO still label (voluntarily).
It would repeal mandatory labeling but not prohibit voluntary labeling.
If this thing goes through, the marketplace will eventually marginalize labeling. No outright prohibit on will be necessary.
As it is now, it's American-labeled products vs. Chinese-labeled products. The Chinese products are cheaper, but some folks will shy away from that "China" label.
Once the labeling requirement is gone, it will be American-labeled products vs. unlabeled products. The unlabeled, cheaper products will start to look more attractive, and more folks will gravitate towards them.
That's my take anyway.
You are Absolutely correct.
Thai, Chinese, and many other a Asian shrimp farms use the disgusting practice of using chicken coops feces to feed the shrimp they raise.
The shrimp pond is then innoculated with large amounts of antibiotics and pesticides to keep harmful bacteria and parasites at bay.
India shrimp actually uses red pigment dye to make its farm raised shrimp more visually appealling. (’sez so on the bag)
As is the case with farm raised Salmon fish feed using orange pigment additives.
Informed health conscious consumers are well advised to only shop for and eat Wild shrimp, such as that caught by US fishermen in the US Gulf state waters. (Same goes for avoiding farm raised fish).
We run the risk of being poisoned by food imports from countries with inferior low food safety standards!
I’m okay with Canadian imports. It’s the stuff from Mexico I want to know about so I can avoid it.
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