Montanans demand COOL

Ranchers and consumers deserve honest markets

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Right now, cattle producers are being forced out of business because a handful of transnational corporations are manipulating cattle markets and lying to Montana consumers. One of the ways these corporations are manipulating markets is by mislabeling where beef and pork is born and raised. Because powerful meatpackers have manipulated the system, beef and pork are the only products that don’t require a Country-of-Origin Label (COOL), leaving our ranchers to compete with cheaper, imported beef. This fraudulent labeling also puts our consumers at risk and leads them to purchase beef and pork of unknown origin.

Our coalition of organizations working with Montana farmers and fighting for fairness and transparency in the market have written a letter to Montana’s Congressional delegation urging them to support mandatory COOL. Please join us by signing on to the letter.

Without mandatory COOL, our ranchers face volatile markets. The years after Country of Origin Labeling was rescinded took a huge toll on Montana ranchers. In the five-year period between 2017 and 2022, Montana lost 1,867 farms raising cattle and calves. As operations go out of business, our rural places suffer economic ripple effects that lead to shuttered main streets and hollowed out communities all while corporate meatpackers reap record-breaking profits. Montana’s state legislature knows this and penned a resolution urging the U.S. Congress to implement mandatory COOL. Montana’s congressional delegation now has the opportunity to support hardworking ranchers and consumers in their state by making country of Origin Labeling mandatory.

It’s up to us to pressure Montana’s delegation to adopt this commonsense legislation. The future of family ranching and the economic viability of rural communities are at stake. We are trusting you to represent Montana’s ranchers and consumers to restore mandatory COOL. Please sign on to this letter. We encourage organizations to sign as well.