Andrew Martin, formerly of the Chicago Tribune, authored one of the best recent articles on country of origin labeling for the NY Times today. Here are some noteworthy excerpts:

In every American supermarket, labels tell shoppers where their
seafood came from. But there are no such labels for meat, produce or
nuts.

But the labeling law has formidable foes, including the meat
lobby, which so far has outmaneuvered its opponents on Capitol Hill.

The meat lobby has historically been a powerful and efficient
operation in Washington, with deep ties to Capitol Hill and the
Department of Agriculture.

“They talk about how the quality is better in the United States,”
said Mark D. Dopp, senior vice president for regulator affairs and
general counsel for the American Meat Institute, a trade group. “The
standards are all the same. For these people to talk about how all this
inferior product is coming in, it’s just nonsense.”

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, which represents both ranchers and meatpackers, opposes origin labeling.

“There will be mandatory COOL by 2008 at the latest,” [Representative Rosa L. DeLauro, Democrat of Connecticut] said.