{"id":4813,"date":"2023-06-14T13:37:04","date_gmt":"2023-06-14T17:37:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/?p=4813"},"modified":"2023-06-14T13:37:06","modified_gmt":"2023-06-14T17:37:06","slug":"usdas-latest-changes-to-meat-labels-are-a-step-in-the-right-direction-but-more-is-needed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/news\/usdas-latest-changes-to-meat-labels-are-a-step-in-the-right-direction-but-more-is-needed\/","title":{"rendered":"USDA\u2019s Latest Changes to Meat Labels are a Step in the Right Direction, But More is Needed"},"content":{"rendered":"\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

The USDA announced changes<\/a> to the guidelines meat companies must follow if they want to label their products as \u201chumanely raised,\u201d \u201cfree range,\u201d or \u201craised without antibiotics.\u201d Farm Forward has long been concerned that most, if not all, animal raising claims confuse the public and humanewash meat company practices. Farm Forward\u2019s own 2021 consumer survey showed that nearly half<\/a> (45 percent) of Americans think that labels that \u201ccertify high welfare\u201d should guarantee that animals are always raised on pasture. However, we know that\u2014regardless of the label you see on the package\u2014finding products from animals raised on pasture is nearly impossible.<\/p>\n

As it stands, most animal raising claims have no formal definition, and meat companies simply define the terms, often describing practices that are barely different from standard industry practices. Earlier this year, Farm Forward, along with the Animal Welfare Institute, encouraged<\/a> Senators Blumenthal (D-CT) and Booker (D-NJ) to take action on this issue, and as a result, they championed a letter urging the USDA to better define and regulate animal raising claims to protect consumers and small farmers.<\/p>\n

The need for reform to labeling couldn\u2019t be more urgent, especially when it comes to the \u201craised without antibiotics\u201d claim. Last year, Farm Forward\u2019s antibiotics investigation<\/a> revealed that a cattle product that was Certified Organic, Animal Welfare Certified, and \u201craised without antibiotics\u201d tested positive for a prohibited antibiotic. This was followed by a peer-reviewed paper<\/a> (and subsequent public attention<\/a>) which found that 26 percent of cattle labeled as Animal Welfare Certified, which prohibits animals from being treated with antibiotics, came from a feedlot where at least one animal tested positive for antibiotics. The Animal Welfare Certified program is widely used by Whole Foods Market.<\/p>\n

The USDA\u2019s announcement<\/a> today signaled a willingness to require meat companies labeling meat as \u201craised without antibiotics\u201d to prove, through testing, that the claim is true, but a lot depends on the details. The USDA intends to conduct its own research, and it may still decide not to require testing. Testing is essential to ensure the \u201craised without antibiotics\u201d claim is truthful. In our 2022 survey<\/a>, 49 percent of respondents\u2014the plurality\u2014incorrectly thought that the \u201craised without antibiotics\u201d label means that the product was tested for antibiotic residue. We hope the USDA will require testing and meet consumer expectations.<\/p>\n

The steps outlined in the USDA\u2019s announcement\u2014while encouraging\u2014may not be enough to ensure that animal raising claims are meaningful. For example, USDA said they would \u201crecommend\u201d companies submit more evidence to verify their claims and would \u201cencourage” third-party certifications to verify the claims. Neither of those are binding requirements, and given how widespread deception is on grocery store shelves today, anything less may end up missing the mark.<\/p>\n

The USDA\u2019s announcement encourages\u2014but does not require\u2014third-party certification, meaning that meat companies may be left to police themselves. Even if the USDA does require third-party certification, it\u2019s critical that they disqualify industry-controlled humanewashing certifications like One Health Certified<\/a> or American Humane as evidence that a company has indeed raised animals in more humane conditions. Until the USDA sets clear standards for claims like \u201chumanely raised\u201d that are meaningfully above industry standard, and those standards are verified by independent certifications, consumers should be wary when buying products with these labels.<\/p>\n

Farm Forward will continue to fight humanewashing and push the USDA to better regulate meat labels to protect consumers and farmers. Join us<\/a> to help us end humanewashing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The USDA announced changes to the guidelines meat companies must follow if they want to label their products as \u201chumanely raised,\u201d \u201cfree range,\u201d or \u201craised without antibiotics. Learn more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":4817,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animal-product-labeling","category-food-policy"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4813\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}