mr. chairman , with all due respect to my good colleagues from montana and others who have spoken in favor of this , i rise in opposition to it . 
it is not about food safety . 
if it were about food safety , then the 52 percent of meat that americans consume would be involved in this labeling process , and that is not the case . 
any meat consumed in retail food establishments is not affected by this labeling . 
so when one goes into their local restaurant and orders a steak , it will not come out labeled as to where that steak comes from . 
so if it was really about food safety , my colleagues would be speaking about that . 
it is really a marketing program , a heavy-handed approach by this federal government to demand a marketing program that may or may not work . 
the voluntary cool program that the gentleman from virginia ( mr. goodlatte ) xz4001540 is proposing , of which i am a cosponsor , will give the industry an opportunity to design a system that works for them . 
we all have to look at the certified angus beef programs and idaho potatoes to understand that the free market can , in fact , devise labeling opportunities or labeling programs that do benefit consumers and allow consumers to make that choice . 
so i stand against this amendment , with all due respect . 
