Mystery Meat: USDA Labels May Not Mean What You Think
In the days before I discovered local farms I used to wander the meat and dairy section at Whole Foods wishing for a food-label decoder ring.
Me: What is the difference between a free-range egg and a cage-free egg? Should I go for the all-natural or the organic upgrade? Omega-3 loaded or regular?
Decoder ring: No fear, Mommypotamus! I will help you!
Why is it so hard to understand what all these terms mean? Excuse me for saying so, but I think it was intended to be difficult. Did you know that Muir Glen Organic and Cascadian Farms are actually owned by General Mills? Organic food is the fastest growing sector of the food marketplace, and industrial food producers are determined not to miss out. While these companies may technically be organic, the spirit in which they were formed seems to have been lost when they were acquired by the titans. I read recently that industrial organic growers are lobbying hard to relax the restrictions on what can be labeled organic. My concern is that if they get their way the term will virtually lose it’s meaning.
Here’s an insightful quote from Barbara Kinsolver’s “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle“:
The rising consumer interest in organic food has inspired most of the country’s giant food conglomerates to cash in, at some level. These big players have successfully moved the likes of bagged salads and hormone-free milk from boutique to mainstream markets and even big box stores.
But low price has its costs. In order to meet federal organic standards as cheaply as possible and maximize profits, some industrial-scale organic producers (though not all) cut every corner that’s allowed, and are lobbying the government to loosen organic rules further. Some synthetic additives are now permitted, thanks to pressure from industrial organics.
A chicken may be sold as ‘free range’ if the house in which it’s confined (with 20,000 others) has a doorway leading out to a tiny yard, even though that doorway remains shut for so much of the chickens’ lives, they never learn to go outside.
Which brings me to this letter I received from a local farm. It’s one rancher’s perspective on how new USDA labeling rules could potentially confuse and frustrate consumers. Sadly, it looks like “grass-fed” may become yet another meaningless, misleading term :
With the increased interest by consumers in more nutritious beef, the USDA (Department of Agriculture) decided to define (dictate) the minimum standards of just what is required by ranchers/producers of beef to qualify for certain beef labels.
Our local Texas Grassfed Livestock Alliance, our national American Grassfed Association, our national Animal Welfare Alliance, and several other all-grass associations lobbied very hard with our USDA beef labeling committee to seize upon this opportunity to “narrowly define” exact protocols and standards so consumers would know exactly what they are eating.
Of course, the big meat packers and feedlot owners also lobbied very hard for a very “broadly defined” set of protocols and minimum standards. We lost and they won the lobbying war; and now meat labels are more confusing than ever.
According to the interpretation of our local rancher, the new labeling standards are as follows:
All Natural
As popularized by Nolan Ryan’s Tender-Aged All Natural Beef: Nolan Ryan owns no fewer than four mega-large “feedlots” in Texas*. Foreman’s Choice is jumping on this bandwagon also. Now, according to the USDA, All Natural means producers can give Growth Hormones (steroid implants and growth promoters), high-dosage quantities of antibiotics (when feedlot animals are sick), and low-dosage quantities of antibiotic feeds (medicated feeds) with the grain-based feeds used in feedlots. FYI, 70% of worldwide antibiotic consumption is in U.S. feedlots.
NOW, the only requirement mandated by the USDA is that for the LAST 90 DAYS before slaughter, producers cannot administer these items to the animals. An animal is slaughtered between 12-24 months of age. . . The USDA believes all the effects of hormones and antibiotics have left the meat tissue after 90 days. These animals can be finished in the feedlot and never have access to grass their entire lives and they still qualify as ALL NATURAL.
Pasture Finished
Means a producer can feed his animals a “grain-based diet” as long as animals have access to pasture. Feedlots that open a gate from their feedlots into an adjacent “small” pasture can qualify as Pasture Finished. Feedlots manage thousands of head per day on a limited number of acres; i.e., 10-500 acres. Most ranchers run 1 cow per 5 to 40 acres to ensure that one animal has adequate grass to graze. So, a feedlot with 10,000 head would need 400,000 acres to adequately provide for those animals. 450,000 acres is half the size of the average Texas County. 450,000 acres is 30 miles long and 15 miles wide.
Unfortunately, cattle are similar to humans. They prefer sweet foods like grain and corn to grass. They will spend the majority of their time at the feed trough and a minority of time eating grass…if there is any grass to eat. The original intent was to define Pasture Finished to help consumers understand that cattle do not eat just grass. While in a pasture, they eat a lot of different green forages: winter annuals, wheat, rye, forbs, weeds, tree leaves, etc. But, it needs to be “green.” So, our farm is replacing all of its Pasture-Raised/Pasture-Finished language with Grass-Raised/Grass-Finished.
Grassfed
According to the USDA, means an animal must have “access” to grass and pasture during its life, and the animals must get the majority of its nutrients from grass. The USDA does not define how much time or at what age these animals have this “access” to grass or pasture. Nor will the USDA monitor ranches/feedlots 24/7 to verify how much time an animal spends eating grass vs. grains from feed troughs.
In addition, the USDA is allowing producers to implant animals with growth hormones and to doctor with antibiotics and to feed medicated feeds and still qualify as Grassfed. The USDA’s position is that the use of hormones and antibiotics has nothing “literally” to do with the “concept” of grassfed. We, little guys, all argued (in person before the head of the USDA’s labeling committee) that the average consumer would be EXTREMELY CONFUSED by this labeling.
Cloning
The USDA recently ruled that meat from cloned animals was safe for human consumption. This means that the beef (all meats) you buy from your supermarket will not carry a label distinguishing that one cut was produced from a cloned animal while another cut was produced naturally. This means you will never know where and how your beef was produced.
After reading this article, I walked to the freezer and pulled out a skirt steak produced by Holy Cow Beef. Then I walked to the phone and called the rancher that both raised the meat on my counter and wrote this letter. In about half an hour he told me more than I’d ever imagined I’d know about the beef industry, which I’ll be sharing in subsequent posts.
The good news is that I learned Whole Foods has co-developed it’s own internal standards for “Grass-fed” beef in cooperation with the Grassfed Livestock Alliance (a Texas organization). The standards, which reflect the true spirit of grass-fed beef, extend to the Texas/Oklahoma/Arkansas/Louisiana District. Whole Foods has similar arrangements in some other districts. For now, I’d say the most important takeaway is this. Unless you buy from a local ranch or from a reputable reseller such as Whole Foods, the “Grass-fed” label isn’t likely to deliver what you’re expecting.
Holy Cow Beef is in the process of creating a website. To contact them about their AMAZING products, call (940) 550-4950.
To find a local rancher in your area, visit Eat Wild.
* This information may not be accurate. Please see comment below by Charlie Bradbury, CEO of Nolan Ryan Beef.
Des
So confusing indeed. I hate that part about politics. It’s all about lobbying and shoulder rubbing. Very corrupt.
Des´s last blog ..I’ve Mastered the Manual Transmission
Heather
Destiny, do politics affect food policy this way in Belgium? I’d be really interested to know how THAT works!
Des
There are EU standards that I have heard countries try to finagle out of. But in Belgium they literally give some tax credits here for buying organic foods/products and encourage really encourage it. It’s definitely part of people’s every day lives and in Belgium particularly there are farms everywhere, even in the city and most people have small gardens. Every city has fresh food markets every Saturday in the town center and fresh meat markets in the city center once or twice a month where local farmers sell their food. I really love it. Just the other day a guy knocked on my door selling fresh apples from his farm. On a side note, I have 3 fruit trees in my backyard and have no idea what they are. It will be fun to see in a few months!
Des´s last blog ..Meal Plan Monday:
Mae
Ah! I love your passion! I feel like I have someone “in on it” with me. We decided to raise Lily vegetarian [until she can decided whether or not she wants meet] and still feed her eggs, fish, and dairy. Our biggest push for this argument is that we don’t even have access to the kind of meet we would want her to have.
Mae´s last blog ..Meal Plan Monday
Heather
Mae, I’m curious — Do you know what blood type you are? I’m an O and do not do well without meat. I’ve heard at least one blood type does fare better on a vegetarian diet. Have you heard of this? If so, what do you think?
Daniel (Daddypotamus)
I know that some people will be tempted to just shrug their shoulders and say, “Well, that’s life. It’s just too hard to find quality food anymore.” And they’ll walk away having given up before pursuing the best.
I’m not looking down on anyone. God knows I love me some Taco Bueno every now and then. But I believe that there is a level of unparalleled health available for men and women in the Kingdom who are good stewards with not just their time, money, or children, but their bodies as well.
Daniel (Daddypotamus)´s last blog ..List of Online Reputation Monitoring Tools
Shannon
wow!!! cloned beef!
Heather
Yup. Pretty disturbing.
Stephanie
Hi, Heather. I found your blog from Cindy and this post from Mae on Facebook. I have really enjoyed reading so far.
Thank you so much for your post! I agree, that labeling is SO confusing. And cloning…YIKES! Our family plans on going in with some others at church to purchase a whole cow from a local farm. Does your family get their beef from Holy Cow Beef? I’d love to get a recommendation from someone with first-hand knowledge of a local farm, not just what their website or Eat Wild says.
Heather
Thanks, Stephanie! I am so grateful for the community I found when I became a patient of Cindy’s. I had no idea how many like-minded families there are around here!
We have been Holy Cow Beef customers for a long time. I feel very confident that their practices are top notch. We have also purchased from Rehoboth Ranch (the owners actually mentored Weldon Warren of Holy Cow Beef). Again, I feel very confident in their practices and I love their pastured chickens.
One thing to consider: Wines grown in different areas have subtly different flavors, and the same is true of beef. I personally like all of them, but some strongly prefer one or the other.
We recently placed our first order with Dominion Farms and are waiting for delivery. I have heard great things about them and excited to try their products for myself.
Scott C
this is related to the corporate ownership of organics
http://media.mercola.com/ImageServer/public/2008/March/OrganicT30IntJan08-1.jpg
Heather
Thanks Scott and Kate! I have been looking for a chart exactly like this. It’s amazing how many industrial producers have started their own “organic” label.
Scott C
this is what i had been trying to find…
http://awesome.good.is/features/009/009buyingorganic.html
Heather
Wow, there were a few surprises on that chart. Thank you so much!
Charlie
Hi Heather,
I am the CEO of Nolan Ryan Beef, I am also the proud father of three daughters and a cattleman. In other words, I am a consumer just like you and I am a rancher as well. We are a small Texas company working hard to bring Texas consumers a very high quality beef product .We don’t own a single feedyard and none of our cattle are in “mega” feedyards but instead we are feeding cattle in relatively small feed yards in South Texas. These cattle are born on pastures, they are grown on the side of their mothers until they reach around 500 lbs of weight (usually around 7 to 8 months of age) and then they are weaned and moved to other grass pastures where they grow to approximatley 800 lbs (usually around 18 months of age) then they are moved to a feedyard and fed grain for around 140 days. Grain feeding is what gives beef the flavor and tenderness most consumers prefer. Grass fed beef is very inconsistent in taste and tenderness; if rain was plentiful and the animal was harvested in a good season it may taste great, if there is a drought and the animal is harvested in the fall, if could be very tough. Grass finishing of beef is also not a wise or sustainable use of our resources. Certainly countries like Brazil, Uraquay and Australia have abundant grass and abundant low cost labor and that is where most of the grass fed beef in the market today comes from, we simply do not have the kind of cheap labor or cheap real estate in this country to support a viable grass fed industry. We are good at growing high quality grain that can then be converted to high quality beef. We are not some faceless factory farm, we are farmers and ranchers trying to produce a good product. Labeling of Beef sold at retail is one of the most restricted and regulated things on the planet. Much of the consumer confusion that you have noticed is because of these restrictive regulations. For Example, USDA defines “All Natural” as any beef that is “minimally processed with no artificial ingredients added” There is nothing in that definition about how the cattle are raised. Beef that has been “enhanced” meaning it is pumped with a sodium phosphate solution such as that sold at Wal-Mart, does not meet this definition, Nolan Ryan Beef does meet this definition and hence we can put it on our label, we are not trying to decieve anyone, just following the regulations. If you have additional questions or concerns, please let me know.
Heather
Thanks for your comment, Charlie. I do have some additional questions (and possibly some comments), but it will take a little time to formulate them. Thanks for the opportunity to dialogue on such an important subject. I look forward to learning more as we talk.
Des
I know that there may be differing points of view here, but I find it very encouraging that you have taken the time to comment on this blog since it refers to your product directly. I think that kind of personal interest in what people think about your product is quite refreshing.
Des´s last blog ..Meal Plan Monday:
Heather
Hi Charlie,
After thoughtful consideration I have posted my Part 1 of my comments at http://www.mommypotamus.com/response-to-nolan-ryan-beef-part-1/. Part 2, which will be posted Thursday, includes some questions I hope you can help me with as well.
Response to Nolan Ryan Beef: Part 1 Mommypotamus - Mommy Blogger - Organic Whole Foods Blog
[...] you read my post last week about USDA meat labeling, you may or may not have noticed a surprising comment left by the CEO of Nolan Ryan Beef. Now, [...]