 Some contend that mandatory COOL will provide U.S. products with a competitive advantage over foreign products because US consumers, if offered a clear choice, prefer fresh foods of domestic origin, thereby strengthening demand and prices for them.Moreover, proponents argue that US consumers have a right to know the origin of their food, particularly at a time when US food imports are increasing, and whenever particular health and safety problems arise.They cite as one prominent example concerns about the safety of some foreign beef arising from the discoveries of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or mad cow disease) in a number of Canadian-born cows (and two US cows) since 2003.