Forwarding this to the USMA list. I second Ken's advice about contacting businesses to request metric-only labelling.
Ezra -------------- Forwarded Message: -------------- From: "Ken Butcher" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: "'Elizabeth Gentry'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: RE: Voluntary metric-only amendment to FPLA and opposition lobbying Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2007 23:06:25 +0000 > No, there hasn't been any effort to conduct studies because it is not really > an issue of widespread public concern. The public currently accepts metric > only in a wide range of products and applications. >The opposition to the FPLA amendment is essentially a carryover from the >anti-metric sentiments of > the 1970s and many of the arguments against it simply are specious. Only > the Food Marketing Institute has gone on record as opposing the amendment > while most other trade associations support it. > Another factor is that since 1999 some 48 states have amended their > requirements to permit > metric-only labeling and none of those states have reported consumer > complaints about industry having the option to label in metric units. > Hopefully, once the EU announces its decision on its 2010 deadline, we will > be able to show that amending the FPLA will eliminate an ineffective and > unnecessary barrier to metric-only labeling. > > What would help us would be for those interested in metric-only labeling to > ask for it in retail stores and contact the mfgs of the products they buy > and request that products be labeled metric-only. > > ___________________________________________ > > Kenneth S. Butcher > Group Leader > National Institute of Standards and Technology > Weights and Measures Division > Laws and Metric Group > Stop 2600 > Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899-2600 > > 301-975-4859 Fax: 301-975-8091 > Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://www.nist.gov/owm > http://www.nist.gov/metric > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2007 6:49 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Voluntary metric-only amendment to FPLA and opposition lobbying > > Dear Ken, > > I was happy to read on the USMA mailing list that the voluntary metric-only > labelling amendment to the FPLA has been sent again to Commerce for possible > inclusion in the White House's legislative proposals for the next session of > Congress. > > Given the (in my view mostly specious or misguided) opposition to this > amendment that some groups (FMI, for example) have offered in the past, I > was wondering if anyone in the government is aware of any studies that have > been done (either by the GAO, other agencies in the government, or > independent organizations) that have analyzed in a substantive and > methodologically sound way the objections that have been raised by any > industry groups or other organizations to this amendment. > > > Best regards, > > Ezra Steinberg > Technical Writer > Kirkland WA > >
