Canadian Ag Minister, Gerry Ritz Turns up the Heat with U.S. Congress to End COOL Dispute

Nov 22, 2013

U.S. Meat Labelling Rules, COOL, Come in Effect Saturday [Nov. 23]

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

COOL isn’t so cool for Canadian livestock producers.

Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz continues to pressure U.S. Congress to put an end to the U.S. Country of Origin Labelling dispute, also known as COOL.

This week Ritz met with American lawmakers, including U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, in Washington D.C. to talk about COOL. The expanded version of the COOL policy will come into effect Saturday with new requirements that will hurt Canadian livestock producers. COOL was first introduced in 2008, but an expanded version was approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in May of 2013, and was put on hold until now.

The 2013 version requires meat products to be labelled to include information on where the animal was born, raised and slaughtered. The rule also forbids the common industry practice of “comingling” meat cuts. U.S. meat packers argue that they can’t afford to sort, label and store meat from Canada differently than meat from the United States.

Ritz maintains that the most effective solution to COOL lies with the Farm Bill. Congress is currently negotiating a new Farm Bill; an amendment to the bill could repeal COOL. To date, several World Trade Organization (WTO) challenges have ruled in favour of Canada. Minister Ritz has said Canada will consider further legal challenges, including retaliatory trade restrictions against certain U.S. products.

Country of Orgin Labelling (COOL) Timeline:

• 2002 – Mandatory country of origin wording was included in the U.S. Farm Bill
• 2003 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture created a rule requiring labeling that said where production points occurred in various countries e.g. born, raised and slaughtered
• 2008 – U.S. Congress introduced amendments in 2008 Farm Bill that aimed at addressing ways to make COOL less of an issue
• 2009 – COOL rule took effect
• 2009 – Canada and Mexico file a complaint against the U.S. to the WTO making the case that COOL violates trade commitments
• 2011 – WTO sides in favour of Canada and Mexico
• 2012 – WTO finds U.S. out of compliance
• 2012 – the WTO sets a compliance date (May 23, 2013)
• 2013 – the dispute is unresolved

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.