Iowa Senator Jonie Ernst, a Republican from Red Oak, says she is still trying to sort through the information before taking a stance on repealing labeling of meat products so you can tell which country they come from. It’s called the Country of Origin Labeling or “COOL.”

“Member of our delegation are kind of split on this, so we’re working through those issues and figuring out where we need to go with this. We know we have been hit hard by the W-T-O (World Trade Organization) and they will continue to come after us as long as we have the labeling in place,” Ernst says. She says she likes the idea of know where products come from.

“I would love a way to highlight our American products — be able to label them as American — and make it work for the W-T-O. We’ve got to find some sort of compromise there,” Ernst says. The labeling covers beef, pork, and chicken, but she says the issue is much broader.

“It’s not just our agricultural industry which will be hit. It’s going to be many, many other industires, manufacturing and agriculture and the types of products that we are sending into Canada or into Mexico,” Ernst says. “So, we really need to take a look at what the W-T-O is saying and then decide how we want to move forward.” The repeal of COOL passed on a 300 to 131 vote in the U-S House. It’s future in the Senate is uncertain.

(Radio Iowa)