BY SARAH MANUEL
Americans are eating more meat. The prediction for 2019 is that the average American will eat 222.4 pounds of beef (up by more than 20 pounds since 2014).
With the increased demand for meat products throughout the country, many options have become available. This seems like it should be a good thing, but it has resulted in an overwhelming amount of necessary research to determine where your meat is coming from and how it was raised.
This post focuses on several standards for beef, but some of the regulations apply to other meat products (especially pork).
Let’s begin with country of origin.
The U.S. used to have strict rules regarding products bearing the claim “Product of the USA.” This all changed in 2015 when the Country Of Origin Labeling (COOL) for beef and pork was rolled back. With the current rules, any meat product processed in the U.S. may be labeled as “Product of the USA,” even if it was born and raised in Australia, killed in Australia, cut into primals in Australia, and then shipped to the U.S. for further processing.
Unfortunately this has become more and more common, occurring in stores from Walmart to Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.
According to statements on the New Food Economy, U.S. beef producers had control of more than 60% of the grass-fed market in 2014. After just two years of the repeal of COOL, American producers held only 20 to 25 percent, and today the American grass-fed rancher shares have plummeted to only 15% of the grass-fed beef market.
The hidden tragedy here is that the average consumer has tabsolutely no idea that they’re not buying American meat.
But now you know.
Pictured: Cattle on the Manuel ranch in Havre. (Photo by Debi Bishop)
Despite these facts, there is still a way to tell if meat at the supermarket is truly a Product of the USA.
Disregard the front label and colorful packaging. Look on the back side of the package in the fine print. Amidst all sorts of technical nutritional information, you should be able to find wording similar to “Product of Australia, Uruguay, New Zealand, United States,” etc. If the only country listed on the entire package is the U.S., then you can be confident it was actually raised here.
Let’s move on to the next buzz word: Grass fed.
Allow me to state the obvious: Cows eat grass. They are ruminants by nature and will naturally attain their ideal health with adequate grazing on pastures and occasional mineral supplements.
Since we have the basics taken care of, there is an important piece of information that often gets overlooked. Cows eat grass, but not all cows eat only grass. In conventional agriculture, cattle are shipped to feedlots, where they are typically fed genetically modified corn and soy products every day. Most feedlots are not open to pasture, so grazing is not an option for much of the animal’s life. Since cows are genetically wired to consume grass, not corn, they often develop illnesses which require the use of antibiotics. Growth hormones are also commonplace in conventional meat markets. They speed the growth process, yielding more meat quicker and thus, higher profit margins.
When you see Grass Fed, Grass Finished, or 100% Grass Fed on a label, it is an indicator that the animal has probably not been exposed to the conditions listed above. But proceed with caution. Those three labels do not mean the same thing.
Grass Fed is an indicator that the cow has been primarily exposed to grass, but not necessarily open pasture, as there are now feedlots which administer dried grass pellets or Hay.
Grass Finished implies the cow was fed strictly grass for the final portion of its life. Be aware that even if the animal is Grass Finished, it could have been exposed to grains or other feeds in the first part of its life.
100% Grass Fed means the cow was only fed grass for its entire life.
Benefits of consuming grass fed beef range from nutrition from the higher levels of Omega 3’s to the full flavor often associated with grass fed animals. Assuming the animals have consistent access to open pasture, grass fed animals are often considered to be raised in a more humane manor.
The USDA used to have an official certification program for grass fed cattle. However, it was removed in 2016. Now, if any rancher wishes to label their meat as grass fed, grass finished, or 100% grass fed, they must submit an affidavit to the USDA.
There are additional programs to become certified as 100% Grass Fed, such as A Greener World organization, who also offers additional organic certification and animal welfare certification.
https://agreenerworld.org
With all of this information, it is important to take note: Grass fed is great, but from a health perspective, it is not enough on its own.
For anyone concerned about exposure to chemicals, grass fed is not enough. The same is true for the consumer avoiding GMOs. This is true because grass fed pastures may be sprayed with herbicides. This is also true because alfalfa, a common element in the diet of most cattle, has now been genetically modified, making it different at the genetic level, and also sprayed with glyphosate shortly before it is consumed by cattle.
Moving on to our next category, Certified Angus Beef.
This classification is unique to this post because instead of focusing specifically on animal diet, antibiotics or GMOs, CAB guidelines take a hard look at the uniformity and marbling of beef. All CAB beef must be graded by the USDA, and only prime and some choice beef qualifies to be certified. The CAB originated nearly 50 years ago when a group of ranchers got together and decided they could change their methods to produce juicier steaks every time.
While the CAB brand is not necessarily prized for its nutritional benefits, it is sought after by many chefs for its marbling and subtly sweet flavor. Here is a link to the CAB website: https://www.certifiedangusbeef.com.
Our next term has arguably been the most confusing for the average shopper: All Natural.
Unfortunately, this has been used as a labeling technique to promote countless meat products as something they are not. You’ve seen it. The vivid label of a red barn and cute farm animals.
The rugged ‘organic looking’ text against an earth-tone background?
While this imagery is commonly found on the labels of ‘All Natural’ products, the only real regulation for the word ‘natural’ is there cannot be any artificial additives during processing.
At one point, the FDA began an online discussion for how people would like the word ‘natural’ to be defined on packaging. The discussion closed in 2016 without a solution, so ‘All Natural’ remains mostly meaningless.
In a deep sea of meat labeling, this next one has likely had the most publicity over the past 20 years: NON-GMO.
GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism. For produce and dry goods, NON-GMO means that the product did not grow from a genetically engineered seed. For the meat industry, Non-GMO means the animals were never exposed to genetically engineered feed (usually corn and soy).
The reasons for avoiding GMOs are controversial at this point, but many people prefer to avoid them since they were designed to thrive throughout the application of harsh chemicals saturating fields. In a way, they are ‘super seeds’ because they won’t die after being exposed to pesticides.
But will the increase in chemicals that soaked into the plants cause us any harm?
I’m not so sure that they won’t. Neither are the founders of the Non-GMO Project, which has been fighting (unsuccessfully) to legally label products which contain GMOs for two decades now.
In December 2018, the latest verdict from lawmakers says it’s not required to label foods with GMOs. But it is lawful to label products which do not contain GMOs.
While valuable, Non-GMO labeling is an irony within the food industry. Instead of labeling the beef for what it is, a NON-GMO label says what it isn’t.
If you’re interested in learning more of the requirements for the Non-GMO labeling, you can find them here: https://www.nongmoproject.org
Our final term is widely used, commonly known and yet still misused on occasion: Organic.
I put this at the end on purpose. Organic can be a summation of bits and pieces of every term in this post but not necessarily to the full potential of each.
Beef must be certified by the USDA’s organic program before it can be labeled as such. This is a rigorous process which includes working with multiple government agencies, filing annual paperwork, setting buffers between organic ground and neighboring land and passing yearly inspections.
For cattle, there are regulations for animal welfare, including access to fresh air, certified organic feed (whether it be grass or grain), and antibiotics and growth hormones are prohibited. GMOs are not allowed in organic programs, so while a meat product might have an organic stamp and a Non-GMO stamp, the USDA organic portion technically covers the same requirements of the Non-GMO stamp, and then some.
This is where labeling can get messy, because at the store various brands of beef may have any combination of these certifications or claims.
You really have to decide what is most important to you. Is it animal welfare above all else? Or nutrition? Abundant marbling? Complex flavor? No GMOs? You make the call. But please understand what you are buying.
Now, if there is a package of “All Natural” beef sitting next to the organic Non-GMO beef, you can at least feel adequately informed and make the decision that best reflects your personal standards for your health and the cattle industry.s
PS: If you’re from Montana and are interested in 100% Grass Fed and Certified Organic Beef or Certified Organic Pasture Raised Pork, check out our website: Prairie Grazed Meats
This post originally appeared on Sarah’s blog, “The Wanderlust Farmer Chef,” here. Manuel is a chef, entrepreneur and part of the Manuel family organic beef and pork operation.
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