Renewed U.S. Country-of-Origin Labeling Push Raises Concerns for Integrated North American Pork Industry

A renewed push toward mandatory country-of-origin labeling in the United States is drawing concern from Canadian pork leaders, who warn that a return to previous labeling requirements could disrupt the highly integrated flow of pigs and pork across the Canada-U.S. border.

Manitoba Pork General Manager Cam Dahl is raising concerns following action by the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee involving the development of a World Trade Organization-compliant labeling system that would require retailers to identify where cattle were born, raised and slaughtered.

While the current effort is focused on beef, Dahl cautions that pork could eventually follow.

The issue is particularly significant for Manitoba and the U.S. pork industry because of the longstanding integration of production between the two countries.

Three Million Pigs Moving South Annually
According to Dahl, Manitoba currently exports approximately 3 million live pigs annually to the United States for finishing and processing.

Many of those animals enter U.S. production systems as feeder pigs before being raised to market weight and processed in American plants.