Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says the situation with Mad Cow Disease is a perfect example of why America needs Country of Origin Labeling — known as COOL. Grassley says the COOL initiative in Congress has been taking plenty of heat but now, he hopes the legislation will gain new support. Grassley says COOL legislation was in the 2002 Farm Bill but the House has passed a measure that would delay it from taking effect for another two years. The Senate will vote on that legislation to delay COOL in January. Grassley says he’ll be diligent in pushing the benefits of COOL. Grassley says he’s “going to continue to ride herd on Congress and the Department of Agriculture to see that this Country of Origin Labeling legislation gets implemented the way that Congress intended, which means taking effect September 30th, 2004.” Grassley says the Mad Cow case that appeared last week in Washington state is a wake-up call to the USDA. Democratic presidential candidates blame the Bush Administration for not taking more steps to better prepare the nation for a Mad Cow outbreak. Speaking Sunday in Ankeny, Howard Dean said the U-S should follow Japan, which tests every animal at the time of slaughter. Grassley says Dean is off-base. Grassley notes U-S consumer consumption of beef has -not- fallen in the past week, it’s only other countries that are skittish about our product, which he contends will be a temporary situation. Grassley also pledged to eat one pound of beef every week to show his confidence in the safety of American beef — and adds, he had beef last night for dinner.
