Billings, Mont. – In a public We the People petition launched today and promoted on its Website, Facebook and Twitter pages, R-CALF USA seeks 100,000 signatures during the next 30 days to call on the Trump Administration to ban imports of Brazilian beef until all beef sold in U.S. supermarkets is labeled with its country of origin.
The We the People website indicates that if R-CALF USA’s petition achieves the threshold of 100,000 signatures in 30 days, the White House will review the petition and respond by email to each signatory regarding the Administration’s response to the petition.
The Petition points out that many beef importing nations took the precaution of placing bans on Brazilian beef after news covering an investigation by Brazil’s federal police reported that Brazilian beef plants knowingly sold rotten meat to schools and to the public, exported spoiled meat to other countries, and Brazilian beef samples tested positive for dangerous bacteria, including salmonella.
The United States, however, which produces more beef than any other country in the world and is the world’s largest beef consumer, did not take the precautionary step of banning Brazilian imports.
The petition calls on a ban of the “unsafe” beef imports from Brazil until American consumers can begin differentiating Brazilian beef from American beef with a country of origin label.
R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard explained that when Congress repealed country of origin labeling (COOL), it did not just eliminate origin labels on beef from the U.S., Mexico and Canada. He said the repeal also eliminated the requirement that imported beef products be labeled through retail sale, meaning all the way to the actual consumer that purchases the beef.
“So, today, an unlabeled package of Brazilian T-bone steaks can be offered alongside an unlabeled package of United States T-bone steaks and both packages will bear an official U.S. inspection sticker. Consumers won’t have a clue as to which of those steaks was produced by the American rancher,” Bullard said.
The group states on its petition request, “We are American ranchers. We produce the safest, best beef in the world and we are going out of business at an alarming rate. More than 200,000 of us have lost our family ranches since 1990 because global ‘fat cat’ meatpackers lobby Congress to stop our American beef from being labeled.”
In addition to the link above, the petition can be accessed at www.BanBrazilianBeef.com
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R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is the largest producer-only cattle trade association in the United States. It is a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. For more information, visit www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.
