Reuters | Biden Administration Finalizes Higher Standard for ‘Product of USA’ Meat Label
The abuse of the ‘Product of U.S.A.’ label stripped America’s cattle producers of a vital opportunity to market their USA beef, said Farm Action’s Joe Maxwell.
Food labels are a critical component of our food economy.
Often the only form of communication between farmers and consumers, labels affect a farmer’s ability to earn a fair price for their products. Americans prefer to buy from nearby farmers using sustainable practices, so transparent labels also support the growth of resilient local and regional food systems.
We believe that labels should say where food comes from and be honest about how it was produced.
And yet all too often, global corporations use misleading labels and claims to sell generic or imported products at a premium while our government looks the other way.
To combat this deception, we are taking two prongs of attack: fighting for clear country of origin labeling policies and addressing corporate deception directly.
Current policy allows imported beef to be labeled “Product of USA” if it was simply “repackaged or otherwise processed” in the United States. Farm Action is working to change this — and you can too!
“Buying American” is an important value to U.S. consumers, and truthful country of origin labels provide grocery shoppers with enough information to support American farmers. Farm Action has long pursued the goal of honest country of origin labeling, which can be achieved through action by Congress, USDA, and FTC.
The Farm Action team takes this issue seriously: when we see corporations using fraudulent practices, we take strategic action to hold them accountable. We are fighting for the fair rules and level playing field that will give independent farmers and ranchers a chance to thrive.
Retail conglomerates know that consumers are willing to pay more for meat labeled “Organic” or “Antibiotic Free,” and have been caught using deceptive labels to get that extra profit.
When an investigation revealed antibiotics in cattle and meat from a USDA-approved no-antibiotics labeling program sold by Whole Foods, we sent a letter to USDA demanding an investigation of the entire Whole Foods supply chain, including the retail stores, slaughter plants, and feedlots that claimed to produce antibiotic-free meat. As a result of our efforts, USDA announced a new initiative to to improve its antibiotic-free label oversight.
When corporations lie, people can get sick, cheaters profit, and farmers working hard to comply with the rules lose money and market opportunities.
Farm Action continues working diligently with our network of farmers to expose the harms of deceptive labeling, and will hold corporations and the USDA accountable.
Mike Callicrate, a Colorado rancher and rural advocate, spoke about what this kind of labeling deception does to farmers in a video and guest blog post produced jointly with the organization Farm Forward.
The abuse of the ‘Product of U.S.A.’ label stripped America’s cattle producers of a vital opportunity to market their USA beef, said Farm Action’s Joe Maxwell.
“These are long, hard fights that are measured in years — but today’s ‘Product of U.S.A.’ labeling win shows that our efforts were worth it,” said Joe Maxwell.
The six-year fight to reform the “Product of U.S.A.” label was hard-won. Here’s how the movement started by Farm Action’s founders overcame the obstacles along the way.
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