Why is country of origin labelling so important?

Steve: I love the fact that we can now see where our animal protein comes from. If you look closely, sometimes you can find as much as four or more countries listed on a package of ground beef. Makes you want to stick to local as much as possible! In the case of the following story, you really have to give pause when you see China listed on the package.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/04/world/asia/rat-meat-sold-as-lamb-in-china-highlights-fears.html?ref=health&_r=0