The debate on lab-grown meats is still ongoing as several cattlemen’s
groups had the chance to voice their apprehensions to two government
agencies about labeling the products “beef” or “meat” and what it could
mean for food safety. In a joint public meeting hosted by the USDA and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) called “The Use of Cell Culture Technology to Develop Products Derived from Livestock and Poultry” a comment period was held at the end where members of national and state cattlemen’s groups shared concerns about the emerging food technology. Words and claims matter to consumers when it comes to clarifying cell-cultured protein from meat derived from livestock says Kevin Kester, 5th generation rancher from California and president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). “Lab-grown, fake meat labels should be held to the same standards as
other meat labels. Given that the goal of these products is to compete
directly with real meat, only USDA oversight can adequately ensure this
outcome,” Kester says. Kester points out that several lab-grown meat companies have started
to disparage against real meat or beef in their marketing before the
products have become available. These would include terms like “clean
meat.” Kester and NCBA believe that “USDA can be trusted to enforce
truthful and transparent labeling of the products under its
jurisdiction.” The U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) is hesitant to allow lab-grown or cell-cultured meat to be called “beef” or “meat.” Danni Beer, past president for USCA and 3rd generation rancher in South Dakota, says that beef checkoff funding should not be used to fund promotion of the products. “It is wrong for beef producers to pay to promote a cell-cultured
product. And it is wrong for any part of our beef checkoff dollars to be
used to promote cell-cultured proteins either domestically or
internationally,” Beer says...MORE
Also see this article from BEEF magazine.
Issues of concern to people who live in the west: property rights, water rights, endangered species, livestock grazing, energy production, wilderness and western agriculture. Plus a few items on western history, western literature and the sport of rodeo... Frank DuBois served as the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003. DuBois is a former legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior, and is the founder of the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship.
Thursday, October 25, 2018
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