(1) It is declared to be in the interest of the public welfare that owners of cattle shall be authorized and encouraged to act jointly and in cooperation with handlers, processors, dealers, and purchasers of cattle in promoting and stimulating, by research, education, advertising, and other methods, the increased and efficient production, distribution, use, and sale of cattle and beef products; and it is the intent and purpose of this article to authorize and provide a method and procedure for a promotional program for the cattle industry and the financing thereof pursuant to the powers of the general assembly as authorized by law. It is further declared that the cattle industry of this state is affected with a public interest in that, among other things:
The production, processing, handling, purchasing, manufacturing, and distributing ofbeef and beef products constitutes a paramount industry of this state which not only provides substantial and required revenues for the state and its political subdivisions and employment and a means of livelihood for many thousands of its population but also furnishes essential foods that are vital to the public health and welfare.
Stabilization, maintenance, and expansion of the cattle industry of Colorado and ofthe state, nationwide, and foreign markets for its products are necessary to assure the consuming public an adequate supply of foods which are indispensable in a proper human diet, to protect, for the state and its political subdivisions, a necessary source of tax revenue, to provide and maintain an adequate standard of living for a great segment of the population of this state, to maintain proper wage scales for those engaged in the cattle industry, and to maintain existing employment.
The essentiality of beef and beef products in proper human nutrition and to the maintenance of a high level of public health is such as to require that the public be made thoroughly aware thereof and be protected against misrepresentation and deception by the dissemination of accurate and scientific information relative to the healthful qualities of beef and beef products, their various classifications, the food values, and industrial and medicinal uses thereof; the methods, care, and precautions necessary to their proper production, processing, manufacture, and distribution; the necessary costs and expenses thereof; and the necessity and desirability on the part of the public of using and consuming beef and beef products of the highest standards of quality.
(2) The purposes of this article are:
To enable the cattle industry, with the aid of the state, to protect their right to market,to develop, maintain, and expand the state, nationwide, and foreign markets for beef and beef products produced, processed, or manufactured in this state, and the use and the consumption of such beef and beef products therein;
In aid, but not in limitation, of the purpose in paragraph (a) of this subsection (2), toauthorize and enable the board to formulate and effectuate, directly or in cooperation with other agencies and instrumentalities specified in this article, sales stimulation and consumer or other educational programs designed to increase the use and consumption of beef and beef products;
To provide funds for the administration and enforcement of this article by contributions or fees in the event the federal cattlemen's beef promotion and research board, established in 7 U.S.C. sec. 2904 (1), ceases to exist. Such moneys shall be collected in the manner prescribed in this article.
Source: L. 93: Entire article amended with relocations, p. 1848, § 1, effective July 1. L. 2000: (2)(c) amended, p. 516, § 1, effective May 12. L. 2003: (2)(c) amended, p. 1046, § 1, effective August 6.
Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 35-57-101 as it existed prior to 1993, and the former § 35-57-102 was relocated to § 35-57-105.