Not in My Food.org : Know what you're eating
Just two weeks after Consumer Reports issued our Meat on Drugs report criticizing, among other things, USDA’s system for overseeing labels on meat and poultry products that are raised without antibiotics, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack sent a letter to Consumers Union indicating that the agency plans to establish a new standard and investigate the use of unapproved antibiotics claims currently made by some companies.
In March, as part of the research for Meat on Drugs, Consumer Reports deployed ‘secret shoppers’ to grocery stores around the country to look for meat raised without antibiotics, and take note of the wording on packages. Little did we expect to find over 20 variations in ‘no antibiotics’-type labels, several of which were unapproved for use by the USDA.
Consumers Union sent a letter to the USDA in June, detailing our findings and asking the agency to look into these unapproved labels, which included:
- Antibiotic free: This is not a defined term by the USDA, as it could have several meanings (for example, were the animals not given antibiotics, or is the meat itself free of antibiotic residues?).
- No antibiotic growth promotants: This label indicates antibiotics were not used to make the animal grow faster, but may have been used for other purposes, such as disease prevention.
- No antibiotic residues: Animals given antibiotics go through a withdrawl period before slaughter in order to allow time for the drugs to clear their systems. While it may be true that a meat product has ‘ no antibiotic residues’, the animal may still have been given antibiotics throughout its life.
In the letter, Consumers Union also points to the need for one standard label regarding antibiotics use (such as ‘no antibiotics administered’) in order to reduce consumer confusion, instill confidence in a meaningful label, and prevent companies from making misleading claims.
In their response, the USDA says they plan to “contact the companies directly” to “investigate the validity of the claims.” The letter also states that the agency has developed new guidelines for companies and producers regarding label approval, which will be available to the public later this year.
Eat only Certified Organic pastured meats. Then you can rest assured that no chemicals or drugs have introduced into your food that feeds your body. http://www.rockymtncuts.com
Meat is not safe to eat.
I’ll drop off a flyer at Trader’s, but we solved the problem by becoming vegan. It’s actually difficult for supermarkets to find meat from animals that haven’t been fed antibiotics. Also, vegetarians enjoy fewer health problems. It’s easy. Try it! Meatless Mondays and vegetarian recipes on the web will get you started.
Eating Certified Organic pastured meats isn’t the only way to go. To guarantee that you’re getting animal products that don’t have antibiotics in them, haven’t been fed by-products or GMO grains, then you have to buy local, grass fed animals. I admit it’s not easy to find within everyone’s budget– so, an alternative: reduce your meat consumption overall. And, when you do splurge to eat meat– find a local producer who only pastures his or her animals. Not a grass fed, grain-finished, not an organic grain fed animal– totally pastured.
Not true Rod. Animals raised organically can be fed antibiotics if they are sick. They have to go through a withdrawal period before they’re slaughtered. So chemicals and drugs sometimes do get introduced into the food that feeds your body.
In the US animals must never be given antibiotics in order to meet organic standards. (Other countries have different standards though – in Europe, for example, sick animals may be treated with antibiotics and still sold as organic meat.)
as far as I know antibiotics do not make the animals grow bigger and faster it is the added growth hormones that they are feed. U also need to specify u want ur feed antibiotic free..most feed store products are already infused with antibiotics.
Becoming a vegan won’t eliminate the risk of contaminated food thru other chemicails that are just as bad or worse. The general public has no idea where and what is in their food and to trust a govern’t agency to oversee this is crazy.
Big feed lots are the source of chemical beef etc. U cannot have animals or anything else confined in over crowd situations and expect them to stay healthy. It is true that ur best chance of good products are thru a local farmer…grass feed and finished everything and chemical free veggies too. I hope this is a move back to obtaining your products thru the good ol’ neighborhood farmer. There are no absolutes but a far better chance of a good clean product.
I am disappointed that only 220,000 people wrote about the antibiotic and chemical free topics…..that is a very small percent of informed people…sorta scarey. Its going to take alot of educating and bringing this to the attention of everyone eating out of the supermarket. Pictures of cattle, hogs, chickens and any other animal in crowded conditions should be plastered everywhere…’You are what you eat’ as they say.