Editorial: Act on food labeling

Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2004 | 9 a.m.

The 2002 Farm Bill signed by President Bush asked food retailers to voluntarily label the "country of origin" of fresh meat, fish, peanuts and fresh fruits and vegetables. The voluntary portion of the bill was supposed to end on Sept. 30 of this year and be replaced with mandatory labeling. Not a single business has so far voluntarily complied and now Congress, with Bush's blessing, has indefinitely postponed the mandatory compliance date.

We hope Congress reconsiders, and soon. It's outrageous that American consumers cannot know where their food comes from. In November, green onions from Mexico caused a hepatitis A outbreak in Pennsylvania that killed three people and sickened hundreds. In December, a Holstein from Canada was found to have had mad cow disease -- after it was slaughtered and its meat had entered the food supply. Most Americans, as a recent poll showed, would prefer knowing where their food originated. Many would prefer food of American origin, knowing that it was raised or grown under the auspices of the U.S. Agriculture Department.

Congress should not allow U.S. meat companies and food retailers to win this battle. They say labeling would hit their pocketbooks too hard. We're more concerned about giving consumers a choice over what hits their dinner plates.