Fight for Country-of-Origin Labeling

We the undersigned citizens of the United States, hereby petition the U.S. government to enforce the Country of Origin Labeling Act (COOL) and to disregard “rulings” of the World Trade Organization finding that COOL is a technical barrier to trade.

The U.S.' Country of Origin Labeling Act (COOL) was passed in Washington as part of the 2002 Farm Bill. Starting in 2008, COOL ordered U.S. retailers to notify their customers, by way of labeling, on the sources of many meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, and some nuts sold in their stores. In November of 2011, the World Trade Organization (WTO) declared that the law violated parts of the WTO's Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT). Even though Washington appealed the ruling last March, the WTO Appellate Body upheld its decision, stating that COOL "has a detrimental impact on imported livestock."

As citizens of the United States, we reject the WTO's authority to undermine our domestic laws. COOL does not discriminate against any country by requiring labeling. Rather, it gives consumers the right to decide whether to buy U.S. or imported meat. We ask that our government defend this consumer right and take a stand for our nation's sovereignty by disregarding the WTO's ruling on COOL.