{"id":5201,"date":"2024-12-16T21:16:48","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T02:16:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/?p=5201"},"modified":"2024-12-16T21:28:29","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T02:28:29","slug":"farm-forward-and-us-senators-push-usda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/news\/farm-forward-and-us-senators-push-usda\/","title":{"rendered":"Farm Forward and U.S. Senators Push USDA for Stronger Food Label Regulations to Protect Consumers, Independent Farmers"},"content":{"rendered":"\t
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Three U.S. Senators, working closely with Farm Forward, have urged the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to strengthen its guidelines on animal welfare and environmental labeling claims, citing widespread deception in food marketing that harms both consumers and independent farmers.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a <\/span>letter<\/span><\/a> addressed to USDA Deputy Under Secretary Sandra Eskin, Senators Richard Blumenthal, Cory A. Booker, and Sheldon Whitehouse outlined serious concerns about the current <\/span>guidelines<\/span><\/a>. The letter notes that the guideline \u201cfalls short of what is needed to protect producers and consumers from the unfair misuse of animal welfare and animal-raising claims.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Farm Forward, which helped draft the letter, strongly supports these Senators\u2019 efforts to reform labeling practices, and has additionally called for mandatory testing requirements for “antibiotic free” claims.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Senators emphasized that 78 percent of consumers pay premium prices for products with higher welfare claims, while 85 percent believe the government should establish and enforce clear definitions for animal welfare labels. However, the current guidelines allow major agricultural corporations to exploit these labels without meaningful verification.<\/span><\/p>\n

The letter quotes an Indiana turkey farmer\u2019s statement to the <\/span>New York Times <\/span><\/i>of how higher welfare producers like him are disadvantaged by the prevalence of mega-corporations\u2019 misleading labels: \u201cBig Ag has co-opted and bastardized every one of our messages \u2026 When they use a fancy label with absolutely meaningless adjectives, there\u2019s just no way we can compete.\u201d Humanewashing labels undermine independent farmers who invest in implementing the actual animal-raising practices they advertise.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Senators proposed three key recommendations, which Farm Forward endorses:<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. Mandatory third-party certifications for animal welfare claims like “humane” and “humanely raised”<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Stronger definitions for terms such as “free-range,” “grassfed,” and “pasture-raised”<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Prohibition of inherently misleading negative claims, such as “hormone-free” labels on poultry products where hormone use is already illegal<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In addition, Farm Forward calls for mandatory testing of products labeled as “antibiotic free.” Currently, these labels often rely solely on producers\u2019 unverified claims, which at times blatantly mislead consumers about antibiotic use in meat production. <\/span>Perdue<\/span><\/a>, which touts their leadership on antibiotic stewardship, vocally opposes both mandatory on-farm testing by the USDA and sensitive testing at slaughterhouses, raising serious questions about their commitment and transparency.<\/span><\/p>\n

    “At a time when our nation is losing independent farms at an alarming rate, we cannot allow mislabeled products to continue tipping the scales in favor of further consolidation,” the Senators wrote, emphasizing that major agricultural corporations cannot be trusted to self-regulate.<\/span><\/p>\n

    With Farm Forward, these senators find self-evident the importance of protecting the integrity of food labelling, ensuring fair competition in the agricultural sector, and providing consumers with accurate information about their food choices.<\/span><\/p>\n

    To supplement the Senators\u2019 letter, Farm Forward\u2014along with Consumer Reports, ASPCA, Compassion in World Farming, Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT), and George Washington School of Public Health Milken Institute\u2019s Antibiotic Resistance Action Center\u2014wrote <\/span>a letter<\/span><\/a> to USDA\u2019s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) calling for the following actions, among others:<\/span><\/p>\n