Naturally Raised Meat Standard

January 2008 Newsletter

On November 28, 2007, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service released for public comment a proposed voluntary standard for meat products to be marketed as “naturally raised.” Public comments on this proposed standard are due by January 28, 2008.

In brief, the proposed standard as written gives us great concern. Under this standard, to qualify for a USDA “naturally raised” label the livestock must not be administered antibiotics and growth hormones. That is good, but that is all the standard addresses. It fails to address other production practices that one associates with “naturally raised,” for example, ensuring the animals are raised on pasture.

The standard as proposed will enable large-scale feedlots that don’t use antibiotics or hormones to qualify for a USDA label that says their product is “naturally raised.” We have seen some of the feedlots (have some right here in our home state) that would fit this category, and we have to say, there isn’t anything natural about that.

To view the proposed standard online go to:
http://www.ams.usda.gov/lsg/stand/NRnotice1107.pdf And be sure to watch our website for more information.

Contact: Traci Bruckner for more information, by email at tracib@cfra.org or by phone at 402.687.2103 x 1016.

Comments

What qualitfies for the USDA's "naturally raised" label.

Wed, 01/09/2008 - 01:27 — Karen Chamberlain (not verified)

My husband and I purchase only beef, lamb, pork, poultry and dairy products from animals that are raised completely organically all their lives——that is, from animals that truly live a "natural" life. We are extremely upset that the USDA's "naturally raised" label means only that the animal has been raised without antibiotics or hormones. While this standard is certainly a welcome first step, it doesn't, according to the English language as we know it, mean the animal has been raised "naturally." The word "natural" should be reserved for animals raised on pasture or in ways that give them a clean and healthy life in which they can graze or choose their own food. Poultry, for instance, should not be limited to feeding pens, nor beef, pork or lamb to feedlot conditions.

We join tens of thousands of other Americans in demanding that food animals are raised humanely, which includes not being administered antibiotics or hormones, but goes further to mean the animal lives free of crates, cages, crowded pens (feedlot/stockyard conditions), or any other inhumane or unnatural conditions. This means healthier food, healthier land, healthier citizens, and a healthier nation.

Thank you.

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Mon, 06/27/2011 - 23:34 — tatheir (not verified)

ones. While this standard is certainly a welcome first step, it doesn't, according to the English language as we know it, mean the animal has been raised "naturally." The word "natural" should be reserved for animals raised on pasture or in ways that give them a clean and healthy life in which they can graze or choose their own food. Poultry, for instance, should not be limited to feeding pens, nor beef, pork or lamb to feedlot conditions. We join tens of thousands happy birthday wishes

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USDA naturally raised meat standard

Wed, 01/09/2008 - 16:31 — Karen Ehrlich (not verified)

My husband and I purchase our meat (beef, pork, poultry, rabbit) and dairy products from a farm just down the road. We know these animals are naturally raised, because we know the farmers and we see the animals out on pasture. But those who live in cities and/or purchase their meats and dairy products in stores have no way to personally verify that they are getting naturally raised food. They can only go by what they read on the labels, and they have a right to expect that a USDA label saying "naturally raised" means that the animal was, indeed raised in a somewhat natural setting, with access to pasture, fresh air, and freedom of motion. If the USDA wishes to grant a label certifying that certain animal products are produced without administration of antibiotics and artificial hormones, that would be fine. That would be a good place to start. But to qualify as "naturally raised" such animals should need not only to be free of antibiotics and artificial hormones, but also to have been raised free of crates, cages, and feedlots. To label meat from animals kept in crowded, un-natural, and inhumane feedlot conditions as "naturally raised" is misleading in the extreme--disingenuous at best, fraudulent at worst.

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meat standards

Mon, 06/27/2011 - 05:51 — Frankie (not verified)

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