A renewed push for mandatory country-of-origin labelling in the United States raises concerns for Manitoba hog producers who depend heavily on an integrated North American pork industry.
Cam Dahl, General Manager of Manitoba Pork, says the issue deserves close attention because Manitoba already knows what mandatory Country of Origin Labelling, commonly called MCOOL, can mean for Canadian livestock producers.
The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee advanced its 2026 Farm Bill on Sept. 16. The bill includes an amendment aimed at restoring mandatory country-of-origin labelling for beef, with further Senate consideration still required.
Dahl says the concern for Manitoba pork producers is straightforward. If mandatory labelling returns for beef, pressure may build to include pork as well.
“From where I sit, it would be naive to think that if mandatory country of origin labelling is introduced for beef that pork isn’t coming close behind,” he said.
Manitoba has good reason to watch closely.
Under the previous U.S. mandatory system, retail meat labels identify where an animal is born, raised and slaughtered. That system requires processors to keep animals and meat from different origins separate. Canada and Mexico successfully challenged the previous requirements through the World Trade Organization, and the U.S. repealed mandatory COOL for beef and pork in 2015.
Dahl says those segregation requirements add costs and disrupt the normal movement of livestock across the border.
That matters greatly in Manitoba, which currently exports about three million live pigs annually to the United States for finishing and processing, according to Dahl.
“It really curtailed, in Manitoba’s case, our ability to export live animals into the U.S.,” he said of the earlier MCOOL system.
Dahl says that it creates high costs for farmers and affects jobs that depend on the pork industry.
There is another change already in place. Current U.S. rules allow voluntary “Product of USA” and “Made in the USA” labels only when qualifying meat comes from animals born, raised, slaughtered and processed in the United States. The compliance date for that rule is Jan. 1, 2026.
For Manitoba producers, Dahl says that also introduces more segregation into a pork system that normally operates across the Canada-U.S. border.
At the same time, supporters of mandatory labelling argue American consumers want clear information about where their beef comes from and that U.S. cattle producers benefit from identifying domestically produced beef. Opponents argue mandatory segregation increases processing costs and ultimately food prices.
Dahl says simply assuming the issue disappears is unrealistic.
Instead, he suggests that governments and industry seek solutions that provide consumers with meaningful information without undermining an integrated North American livestock market.
One possibility, he says, is a “Product of Canada and the U.S.” label or even a “Product of North America” designation.
That approach recognizes two realities. Consumers increasingly want to know where their food comes from, while Canadian and American agriculture remain closely connected.
For Manitoba hog producers, maintaining that connection is important. Pigs, feed, pork and people move through a system that crosses the border every day.
Dahl says the challenge is finding a way to provide consumers with the information they want without putting unnecessary barriers between farmers and their markets. •
— By Harry Siemens