Not So COOL

Since Congress passed the Tariff Act of 1930, virtually every consumer product imported into this country is required to carry a label stating clearly where that product is imported from -- a Country Of Origin Label or COOL. However, seventy years ago when this law was passed there were very few food imports into the United States, so most types of food were exempt from the list of products requiring COOL. Since then the geography of food production has changed drastically and over the past 20 to 30 years many American farming and ranching associations and consumer groups have argued that food should be included in the COOL requirements. If food products were labeled according to their country of origin both farmers and consumers would benefit: American farmers and ranchers would have a market niche in consumers who want to buy American (or other) products that they perceive to be of higher quality and more heavily regulated and consumers would receive their right to know where the food they purchase comes from and can make more informed decisions based along these lines. Furthermore, most of our major trading partners including Canada and Mexico already require COOL.

The recently passed 2002 Farm Bill required the U.S. Department of Agriculture to write rules for COOL for most fresh and processed foods. Consumer groups and most farmer associations such as American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Farmers Union support this provision, but some stakeholders, such as retail grocery chains and large food processors, are not happy with the idea of COOL. Under the new rules, retail chains and processors are required to label the country of origin of all products in plain view and some large agribusiness interests, such as the handful of meatpacking companies that control the cattle market, would no longer be able to raise steer in cheaper Mexican feedlots right over the border and still call them "American."

There has recently been a Congressional dispute over the substance and funding of COOL and currently opponents to the law are winning. In mid-June, the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee voted to remove the funding for the 2002 Farm Bill COOL provision and this month the House of Representatives voted to defeat an amendment which would have restored the funding to implement COOL. The future of COOL is on shaky ground.

Luckily, as a CSA member, labeling isn't necessary. You already know precisely where your food comes from and how it being produced. But not all Americans are so lucky. The issue of labeling is one with which we should all be concerned. Without more available information about how and where food—and other products, for that matter—is produced it is very difficult to be aware of the potential social, economic, and environmental consequences of our consumer choices. Production and distribution systems in a global economy are very complex, but with sufficient information it is still possible to make an informed "vote" with your dollar.

Information for this article was gathered from Americans for Labeling, Public Citizen, and "U.S. Food-Labeling Regulations Must Be Rational and Flexible" from the Tampa Tribune, July 13

For more information and ways to take action on COOL contact Americans for Labeling at www.americansforlabeling.org or 1-800-895-2221 and Public Citizen at www.citizen.org or 202-588-1000.

You can also sign up to be on the list serve for the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture and receive Action Alerts about COOL www.sustainableagriculture.net.