New USDA Rules for Grass Fed Meat

An Oct. 19, 2007, article in the NY Times (by our friend Marian Burros) reports that the "Department of Agriculture has announced standards that would for the first time allow meat to be labeled as grass fed only if it came from animals that ate nothing but grass after being weaned."

That's the good news. The bad news is the standards allow the use of antibiotics and hormones and do not require grass-fed animals to live on pastures year round. Members of the American Grassfed Association are not at all happy, and these producers have decided to set up their own labeling standard. For more information, contact the American Grassfed Association, americangrassfed.org.

For additional information (and entertainment) read the thoughts of twice elected Texas Agriculture Commissioner Jim Hightower, who asks, "What does grass fed mean?" His website is at www.jimhightower.com.