Can USDA’s new label save American Ranchers?

Last week, the US Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsak, announced a new voluntary program that aims at making it easier for consumers to know where their meat is coming from. The new program, allows farmers and ranchers selling meat and eggs to use a “Product of USA” or “Made in the USA” label. To qualify to use this label, the animal products must be from animals born, raised, and processed in the United States. This rule will require those using these labels to be able to provide documentation proving their products originated and stayed in the USA.

I consider this a huge win for both farmers and ranchers. Years ago, the Country of Origin Label Law was appealed, which no longer required those selling meat products to disclose where their products were from. This appeal caused a huge growth in beef, chicken, and pork imports from Brazil and China, whose meat standards and health and safety protocols are not up to par with that of the United States. This issue, is that consumers have no clue where their meat is coming from. Meat at Wal-Mart, or Publix, or Whole Foods typically won’t have an origin label.

Here’s an all too common scenario: You want to go to the store and buy some steaks for a special occasion. You’re environmentally conscience and would like to buy beef from a sustainable source. But, meat at your local grocery store has very little if often misleading label claims on it and they leave you still questioning where it actually came from. Unfortunately, some of the biggest exporters of beef products, China and Brazil, care very little for the environment. That’s a pretty general statement for those countries, but the rise in beef exports from Brazil for example, and their continued profits, have driven some ranchers in the country to cut down parts of the Amazon rainforest in order to raise more cattle. And unfortunately, without proper labeling laws, you just don’t know if your purchase is supporting these devastating practices.

Until we get a new Country of Origin Label law passed, this new USDA label program is great first step that gives consumers and farmers more power. I imagine any farmer and rancher in the USA is going to use this label to attract more consumers to their US products. I genuinely think consumers are more educated than ever before and want to support farmers as local as possible. And now, thanks to this program, the guess work is almost gone. I hope the USDA continues to develop the guidelines and maybe even include a formal process by the FDA and even the USDA to ensure the products were only from the USA and not allowing any loopholes.

Here’s to progress!

I covered this on last weeks Five Minute Friday newsletter and podcast episode. Check out the episode below!

Listen to the full episode here.