Standard for Naturally-Raised Meat

Here's a press release from Consumers Union about new standards for "naturally raised" meat. Do you call animals that have been cloned or genetically engineered naturally raised? How about animals confined indoors for their lifetime and fed pesticide laced food?

News Release: Consumers Union – Publisher of Consumer Reports

 

Consumers Union and Food & Water Watch say new USDA standard for so-called naturally-raised  meat sanctions unnatural practices

 

WASHINGTON -- Following news reports that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had issued a voluntary standard for so-called “naturally raised” livestock and meat marketing claims, Consumers Union (CU) and Food & Water Watch (FWW) criticized the last-minute regulation, saying the labeling effort was misleading and fell short of consumer expectations.  The announcement comes days before the change in federal government administrations in Washington. 

The naturally raised marketing claim standard states livestock used for meat production have been raised without growth promotants and without antibiotics, except for ionophores used as coccidiostats for parasite control, and have not been fed animal by-products.

CU and FWW said, aiming to ban antibiotics, animal byproducts, and growth promotants are all important practices that should be labeled specifically and discreetly and not couched under a vague and misleading term that does not address how the animals were raised, their main diet, treatment of animals, space requirements and other concerns.

 

"This regulation will allow an animal that has come from a cloned or genetically engineered stock, was physically altered, raised in confinement without ever seeing the light of day or green of pasture, in poor hygiene conditions with a diet laced in pesticides to be labeled as ‘naturally raised.’  This falls significantly short of consumer expectations and only adds to the roster of misleading label claims approved by USDA for so-called natural meat," said Dr. Urvashi Rangan, Senior Scientist and Policy Analyst at Consumers Union.

 

"These last minute rules for the 'naturally-raised' label on meat practically invite agribusiness to greenwash their products and rip off consumers" stated Patty Lovera, assistant director for consumer group Food & Water Watch.  "Until these standards are revised, consumers will have to navigate another set of misleading labels at the grocery store."

 

USDA said it received more that 44,000 comments about the rule, while Consumers Union and FWW generated more than 36,000 signatures stating that the USDA's proposed standards for "naturally raised" were flawed, would only confuse consumers and should be withdrawn. 

 

A national telephone poll conducted by Consumer Reports’ National Research Center released in November 2008 showed American consumers want the “naturally raised” meat claim to mean more than USDA's proposed standard, including that it came from an animal that:

• Had a diet free of chemicals, drugs and animal byproducts (86%)

• Was raised in a natural environment (85%)

• Ate a natural diet (85%)

• Was not cloned or genetically engineered (78%)

• Had access to the outdoors (77%)

• Was treated humanely (76%)

• Was not confined (68%)

 

Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, is an independent, nonprofit testing and information organization serving the consumer. We are a comprehensive source of unbiased advice about products and services, personal finance, health, nutrition, and other consumer concerns. Since 1936, our mission has been to test products, inform the public, and protect consumers.

 

Media contact: David Butler, Consumers Union, 202-462-6262

Meat from cloned animals already in our food supply

It was all over the news about a month ago - meat from cloned animals was approved but since the technology was so expensive, we didn't need to worry that it was in our food supply . . . and the story died out because if we didn't have to worry we were eating it, who cared.

Well . . . according to a Kansas cattle producer, offspring of cloned animals have already entered the food supply. Donald Coover, a cattleman and veterinarian, says that he has sold semen from prize-winning clones to many US meat producers in the past few years, and that others may be doing the same.

"This is a fairy tale that this technology is not being used and is not already in the food chain. Anyone who tells you otherwise either doesn't know what they're talking about, or they're not being honest. I have sold offspring of cloned animals into feedlots, and they are in the food chain," Coover told the Star-Telegram on Wednesday.

And of course there is no label to tell you whether meat is from cloned animals or not. Organic meat however can not be from cloned animals.

For more info, go to http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_10496.cfm

Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed bill to label products from cloned animals

The California Legislation passed a bill (SB 63) introduced by Senator Migen to require that meat and dairy products from cloned animals be clearly labeled as such. Unfortunately, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed it.

"Governor Schwarzenegger's veto is a slap in the face to a majority of consumers who say they want milk and meat from cloned to be labeled," said Elisa Odabashian, Consumers Union’s West Coast Director. "Without labeling, not only will consumers be unable to choose whether or not to buy cloned food, but government food safety agencies will be unable to track any long-term impacts of cloned food on human health."

According to a recent survey by Consumers Union, more than 89 percent of Americans want food from cloned animals to be labeled. At the federal level, the groups, along with, the Consumer Federation of America, Farm Sanctuary, Food & Water Watch, the Humane Society of the United States, the American Anti-Vivisection Society, and Union of Concerned Scientists, are also urging the inclusion of a recent amendment concerning food products from cloned animals in the 2007 Farm Bill (H.R. 2419). Amendment No. 3524, introduced by Senators Mikulski and Specter, would ensure that the potential human health, animal health, and economic impacts associated with animal cloning that are missing from the FDA's risk assessment are fully analyzed before any products derived from clones are introduced into the food market. The organizations are deeply concerned over the FDA's issuance of an inadequate draft risk assessment that endorses the safety of milk and meat derived from cloned animals and their progeny.

Experts say milk, cheese and other dairy products from cloned animals will be the first such food products to reach California stores, and will make up the vast majority of the cloned food market.

According to the Center for Food Safety, they will continue to work with California Legislators to get a labeling bill passed. Write to Governor Schwarzenegger and let him know we have the right to know where our food is coming from.