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U.S. poised to replace COOL with tougher meat labeling laws

U.S. poised to replace COOL with tougher meat labeling laws

Canada, Mexico waiting to see if the U.S. will trigger a meat war

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

The U.S. is expected to introduce stricter labeling rules on meat exports on Thursday, which will likely spark ongoing heated trade tensions between Canada and Mexico. Washington officials say the new regulations are intended to comply with a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling that found the U.S. country-of-origin (COOL) labeling law on meat to violate trade commitments.

The current meat labeling law requires retail outlets to feature a country of origin label on meat, which they say was an effort to provide domestic consumers with more information on where their food comes from. The law was created March, 2009 – with Canada and Mexico making the case that the rules discriminated against imported livestock, taking up their dispute with the WTO. The WTO sided with Canada and Mexico – the U.S. submitted an appeal to the order, which was struck down in June 2012.

Canadian and Mexican officials say that the U.S. proposed rules would exacerbate the issue further for cattle and hog exports. The Canadian government has warned the U.S. that they may sanction a strike against certain U.S. imports if they don’t comply with the WTO ruling. Mexico’s Agriculture Minister says the U.S. isn’t respecting the WTO ruling, noting that it’s an arbitrary decision that discriminates against Mexican beef. Despite Canada and Mexico’s concerns over the soon-to-be new meat labelling law, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says they are confident that its final changes will meet WTO expectations.
 


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Swine Industry Advances: Biodigesters Lower Emissions and Increase Profits

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Analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG emissions) in the Canadian swine sector found that CH4 emissions from manure were the largest contributor to the overall emissions, followed by emissions from energy use and crop production.

This innovative project, "Improving Swine Manure-Digestate Management Practices Towards Carbon Neutrality With Net Zero Emission Concepts," from Dr. Rajinikanth Rajagopal, under Swine Cluster 4, seeks to develop strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

While the management of manure can be very demanding and expensive for swine operations, it can also be viewed as an opportunity for GHG mitigation, as manure storage is an emission source built and managed by swine producers. Moreover, the majority of CH4 emissions from manure occur during a short period of time in the summer, which can potentially be mitigated with targeted intervention.

In tandem with understanding baseline emissions, Dr. Rajagopal's work focuses on evaluating emission mitigation options. Manure additives have the potential of reducing manure methane emissions. Additives can be deployed relatively quickly, enabling near-term emission reductions while biodigesters are being built. Furthermore, additives can be a long-term solution at farms where biogas is not feasible (e.g., when it’s too far from a central digester). Similarly, after biodigestion, additives can also be used to further reduce emissions from storage to minimize the carbon intensity of the bioenergy.