Meat Label Claims
The establishment of strong minimum standards for meat label claims for sustainable livestock production processes through the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Process Verified Program (PVP) is central to protecting and promoting the value-added markets painstakingly built by small and mid-sized sustainable farmers and ranchers. The substantive content of USDA’s process verified claims has the ability to either strengthen or extinguish the vitality of these expanding markets and the economic opportunities they offer to sustainable producers and the health and environmental benefits they offer to the consuming public.
In the last two years, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) was successful at fending off a USDA decision to issue weak consumer label standards that would have allowed industrial feedlots and conventional processing plants to slightly alter their practices and still qualify for the premium “grass-fed” label. USDA issued a revised “grass-fed” standard in early 2008 that will protect this important niche market for sustainable family farmers while protecting consumer label integrity.
Building on this victory, NSAC will continue to win reform to other meat label claims including an anticipated “free range/pasture-raised” label claim expected in 2009 as well as monitor USDA’s development of a “naturally-raised” label claim also expected in 2009.
NSAC will also continue to work with the National Organic Coalition and other partner organizations to advocate for a strong pasture standard within the National Organic Program rules for organic meat, dairy, and poultry.
NSAC submitted this Letter to Secretary Vilsack on the Naturally Raised Label on February 13, 2009.