The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, January 20, 2004, Image 9

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    ATION '
HE BATTALION
9A
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
Marketing claims for beef
confusing to consumers
By Jon Sarche
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DENVER —Organic. Natural,
o added hormones. No antibi-
itics. Grass-fed. Free-range.
t An often-confusing array at a
ligher cost awaits consumers
interested in alternatives to mass-
Iroduced beef after mad cow dis-
lase was found last month in a
Washington dairy cow.
I This spring, the government
i expected to approve new rules
tiiat should clear up some of the
ionfusion.
I Of all the current labels, the
»iost stringently regulated is
Hrganic. Only organic beef
■icets strict standards verified
fly independent inspectors.
To be certified organic, beef
fluist come from cattle fed grass or
Hrain grown without pesticides.
Hhc meat must be traceable from
Hie ranch to the dinner table.
H Organic beef can be roughly
Houble the price of ordinary
^mass-produced beef.
H Other labels may boost the
Host by 50 percent. And what
Hoes that label mean? For con
sumers, confusion reigns.
“The only way to know is to
IHtll the producer and ask what
tl c label means,” said Ruth
Iflava, nutrition director of the
gflmerican Council on Science
|Hid Health.
Products labeled “natural”
simply have to be minimally
processed with no artificial
ingredients.
Virtually any fresh-meat
product can be labeled natural,
said Roy Moore, one of those
selling “natural” beef. Founder
of Denver-based Maverick
Ranch, he says his meat is also
free of antibiotics and additional
hormones.
Food labels making such
claims must be approved by the
U.S. Agriculture Department’s
Food Safety and Inspection
Service, which works with the
Agriculture Marketing Service
to develop standards.
The goal is consistency
among labels, so that one
farmer’s claim of natural, hor
mone-free beef, for example,
means the same thing as that of
another farmer, said Robert
Post, director of the service’s
labeling and consumer protec
tion staff.
Under current labeling rules,
“natural” means no artificial
ingredients or added color, and
minimal processing like grind
ing, smoking or freezing.
Claims such as no hormones,
no antibiotics, free-range or pas
ture-raised, or grass-fed or
grain-fed may be approved if
producers supply sufficient doc
umentation to satisfy the FS1S.
Inspections to verify claims can
NEWS IN BRIEF
be conducted if the agency
believes something is wrong
with a claim. Post said.
Proposed rules expected to
be made final this spring are
designed to set consistent defini
tions for claims including:
— No hormones: Animals
never received supplemental
hormones. A related claim of no
hormones used during finishing
would mean the animals did not
receive supplemental hormones
during the time before slaughter.
— No antibiotics: Animals
never received antibiotics. A relat
ed claim of no subtherapeutic
antibiotics means no feed laced
with antibiotics; and no detectable
antibiotic residue would mean any
antibiotic treatment was ended
long enough before slaughter to
ensure the meat was free of traces
of antibiotics.
— Free-range or pasture-
raised: Animals that have had
continuous and unconfined
access to pasture throughout
their lives and have never been
confined to a feedlot, where
movement is limited.
— Grass-fed: Cattle that
throughout their lives received
80 percent or more of their pri
mary energy source from grass,
green or range pasture or forage.
Grain-fed would mean average
grain consumption must equal at
least half of the feed for 30 days
for cows and 1 (X) days for steers
and heifers.
■mall farmer's fight against
llonsanto becomes crusade
lOTTAWA (AP) — The case of a small-time
■rmer from the remote Saskatchewan plains,
flw before Canada’s highest court, may repre-
flnt the best chance yet for foes of the global
lb )tech revolution to get the law on their side.
■Agribusiness giant Monsanto Co. sued the
■rmer, Percy Schmeiser, after its agents found
b >tech canola growing in his fields in 1997. It con-
t4nds he replanted seeds from those plants with
out paying a technology fee of about $12 an acre.
But Schmeiser says the Monsanto canola,
originating from neighbors’ fields, got onto his
1,400 acres without his involvement or knowl
edge. The 73-year-old farmer says the contami
nation of his crops destroyed a lifetime of work
improving them, so it’s hardly right that he would
have to pay for Monsanto’s seed.
Monsanto, which has a lien on Schmeiser’s farm
after two lower-court victories, says there was sim
ply too much biotech canola in his fields for the
accidental exposure explanation to be credible.
o Experience Necessary
|Wtend the orientation clinic:
■ January 26
■ 7:00 pm
a rm 281
aking money has never
een more fun!
it Prei 1 1
’ecsports.tanw.edu
A&M
Mk
SPORTS
CALL FOR PAPERS
Texas A&M University
Undergraduate
Journal of Science
All undergrads doing research are eligible to
submit their work for possible publication.
DEADLINE: February 2, 2004
Rm. 230 Reed-McDonald or email to
ujs@stuorg.tamu.edu
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RADIANT CUT
1.06
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EMERALD CUT DIAMONDS
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1.52
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1.03
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1.12
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OLD EUROPEAN CUT
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.72
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