USDA Chickens Out on Grass-Fed Beef
The USDA impressed ethical eaters with recent proposals to tighten the "grass-fed" label. Officials wanted to require beef labeled as grass-fed to be, well, grass-fed: cows that only ate grasses from a pasture.
But the industry has pushed back, according to this AP story. Ranchers want to be able to use the customer-drawing "grass-fed" label under looser conditions. The USDA, which services the industry and not the consumer, seems to have responded to these protests, and now suggests a looser definition. From the article, "The Agriculture Department has proposed a standard for grass-fed meat that doesn't say animals need pasture and that broadly defines grass to include things like leftovers from harvested crops."
As always, you're better off talking to the producer, if possible, than trusting a label of dubious value.
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