This document summarizes a presentation arguing that consumers have a right to know the country of origin of their food and that large meatpackers and retailers have abused their market power to the detriment of U.S. cattle producers. It notes that foreign beef, especially from Mexico and Brazil, is often sold at significantly lower retail prices than U.S. beef. Removing country-of-origin labeling requirements could allow large corporations to import even more cheap foreign beef and drive down domestic cattle prices to unsustainable levels, wiping out many U.S. producers. The document advocates keeping mandatory country-of-origin labeling to inform consumers and prevent foreign beef from flooding the U.S. market.

1. Consumers have a right to know where their food comes from
and producers deserve a fair, competitive and transparent market.
COOL – Country of Origin Labeling
Presentation by Mike Callicrate - R-CALF Convention 2015

7. Trader Joe’s – U.S.A. Beef vs. Mexican Beef
U.S.A. Strip Steak $15.49/lb.
Mexico Strip Steak $9.49/lb.
Difference $6.00/lb.
Foreign sourced beef at Trader Joe’s is 39% lower in price.
If finished cattle prices in the U.S. are adjusted to compete with
Mexican beef, based on the percent difference in retail prices,
U.S. live cattle prices would be $91.50/cwt. rather than $150/cwt.
If the big packers and retailers can keep consumers in the dark
on the country of origin, they will make unprecedented profits
and wipe out many more U.S. producers.
Brazilian cattle prices are roughly half of the U.S. market!

8. *All Fresh Choice Beef – USDA-ERS Data
35.0%
40.0%
45.0%
50.0%
55.0%
60.0%
65.0%
70.0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1950
1975
1995 1996 1997
1998
2002
2000
2006
1999
Farm share of the consumer retail beef dollar
A picture of abusive market power
2012
2009
2013
2014
$90 finished cattle would equal 32%
When markets
were competitive
When prices were
managed by big
packers and retailers
Mad Cow
Market failure
result in smallest
calf crop since 1941
August 2015 – Vilsack
announces S. American
beef imports in September

9. What Happened?
1978 – Based on the advice of a consulting group,
IBP, the largest beef packer in the world, developed a
plan to control the cattle and beef markets.
• With four-firm packer concentration growing rapidly, it was easier for the big
packers to manipulate the market. They decided it was more profitable to
cooperate than compete. So they did.
• The highly profitable poultry model of vertical integration with captive
supplies was implemented.
• The market (price) was essentially managed at below cost of production
levels forcing U.S. cow herd decline.
• Today the big retailers (Walmart), now more powerful than the big packers,
dictate terms to the packers.

10. “You should be suing
Wal-Mart [instead of
IBP], they are the
problem. They tell us
what they will pay and
we have no choice but
to pay you less.”
- John Tyson comment to Mike Callicrate in
2002
10

11. What could happen?
• Under pressure of the big retailers, the big packers are
being forced to search the globe for cheaper meat.
• The only remaining barrier is COOL and an informed
consumer. The JBS (Brazil) and Smithfield (China) plan
for world domination of beef and pork fails with COOL!
• If COOL is repealed, or made voluntary, foreign beef
will flood into the U.S. market, reducing U.S. cattle
prices to foreign levels less freight – shipping costs
from Australia are around 4 cents per pound.
• It is very important to know that COOL now applies to
less than half of the beef that is consumed in the U.S.
• Opening the border to South American meat in
September will fill the wholesale market with much
more cheap meat, reducing U.S. cattle prices closer to
import costs.
• A $90/cwt. finished cattle price would mean a producer
share of 32% of the consumer beef dollar.
$90 finished cattle would equal 32%

12. Without COOL, this label will disappear from retail meat cases.
It raises unwanted questions about where the non-labeled meat
comes from.

13. The Problem is Concentrated Power!
Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an
alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy
are not a President and senators and congressmen and
government officials, but the voters of this country.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
Over 90% of the people want to know
where their food comes from. Congress
is acting against our national interest.
WTO has got to GO!