2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Carrie Balkcom
Executive Director, American Grassfed Association
carrie@americangrassfed.org
(303) 591-3978

American Grassfed Association Applauds USDA’s Proposed Rule on “Product of USA” Label Claim

American Grassfed Association celebrates USDA’s proposed rule to limit the “Product of USA” label exclusively to meat, poultry, and eggs derived from animals born, raised, slaughtered, and processed in the United States. The proposed rule aims to align the voluntary label claim with consumer understanding and ensure accurate and truthful labeling for informed purchasing decisions. This announcement delivers on a commitment made in the Biden-Harris Administration’s Action Plan for a Fairer, More Competitive, and More Resilient Meat and Poultry Supply Chain. This is an important step toward closing the loophole that has allowed multinational corporations to import meat and pass it off as a higher-quality product raised by U.S. farmers and ranchers.

American Grassfed Association and Joe Maxwell, President and Cofounder of Farm Action filed a petition in 2018 that led to the USDA’s comprehensive review to understand the “Product of USA” label claim’s meaning to consumers. This petition prompted the USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) to take up the issue in March of 2022. A nationwide consumer survey commissioned by USDA in July of 2021 to understand what the “Product of USA” claim means to consumers and inform the proposed rulemaking revealed that the current labeling claim misleads a majority of consumers, with a significant portion believing the claim means that the product was made from animals born, raised, slaughtered, and processed in the United States.

The AGA believes that truthful labels protect consumers and keep the playing field fair. Carrie Balkcom, Executive Director of AGA, said, “Deceptive labeling has undercut the profitability of American grassfed producers. As grassfed beef sales continue to rise, U.S.-based producers are forced to compete with products from offshore that may or may not meet the same criteria that American family farmers adhere to. AGA applauds USDA’s proposed rule, but we urge Congress to restore MCOOL to protect American farmers, ranchers, and consumers.”

Greg Gunthorp, AGA Board Member and American Producer added, “Rules requiring born, raised, slaughtered, and processed to use Product of USA will provide domestic farmers and small processors huge opportunities to compete fairly in the grassfed and USDA procurement program. I can only hope this is but the first step of many in ensuring truthful labels in the US.”

While the proposed rule is a step in the right direction, American Grassfed Association believes Congress must act to restore Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (MCOOL) for beef and pork, requiring meat and meat products to disclose the country where the animals were born, raised, and slaughtered. Currently, MCOOL only covers lamb, chicken, and other food commodities, and in 2015, Congress directed the USDA to roll back this law for beef and pork, allowing these products to be sold without country designation on the label.

American Grassfed Association applauds USDA’s commitment to ensuring accurate and truthful product labeling and encourages all stakeholders to comment on the proposed rule.

Public comments can be submitted at https://www.regulations.gov.

About American Grassfed Association:

American Grassfed Association is the national organization supporting independent family farmers raising livestock on pasture, encouraging sustainable and regenerative farming practices, and promoting the production and consumption of grassfed meat and dairy products.

To learn more, visit www.americangrassfed.org.

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1. Slice 3 onions and place on the bottom of roasting pan

2. Place a 4-6 lb PROVIDENCE CATTLE COMPANY GRASSFED BEEF brisket on top of onions

3. Cut 4 slits into different areas of meat and insert 4 garlic cloves

4. Sprinkle meat with dried onion soup mix

5. Mix 1/2 jar of apricot jam, 1 cup of water, 3 tbsp of ketchup and 3 tbsp of barbecue sauce

6. Pour mix over brisket

7. Cook for 1 1/2 hours at 325 degrees

8. For best results, brisket should be made at least one day ahead of time, sliced, and then frozen in its own juice. Thaw and reheat to serve. This tenderizes the meat and makes it more enjoyable.

Ingredients:
1 package grass fed & grass finished tenderized round steak
2 limes
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 yellow onion
1 small jalapeno seeded
2 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon bacon grease
1 tablespoon butter
1 package yellow or white corn tortillas

Directions:
Slice steak into thin strips pat dry and coat steak with salt and pepper. Slice onion and
peppers into thin strips. Mince garlic cloves. Wedge limes. Add oil to pan and sauté onion,
peppers, garlic, and two quarters of one lime for 2-3 minutes. Add butter to pan, when hot add
strips of meat to pan, toss and add remaining dry spices. Cover and sauté until meat is done to
your liking. Be careful not to overcook. We suggest 2-3 minutes while tossing and stirring.
Remove two lime pieces.

Serve on warmed tortillas along with remaining lime wedges.

From Heritage Acre

EQUIPMENT
Instant Pot

INGREDIENTS
6 tbsp bacon drippings or pork lard
3 lbs 80/20 grass fed ground beef
6 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp salt *make sure your using a real salt like Redmonds
½ tsp cayenne pepper *omit if you don’t like it spicy
1 Guajillo pepper-chopped
1 tbsp Red hot sauce
1½ quarts water
3 tbsp masa harina *omit for Keto version

INSTRUCTIONS
In a Dutch oven, heavy bottomed pot, or an Instant Pot heat the bacon drippings and brown the meat.
Add the spices and water.
Heat to a boil. Then reduce to a simmer and cover. Simmer 2 hours.
Mix masa harina with 6 Tablespoons of water and add to the chili.
If you are using your Instant Pot, after you add the spices and water, close the lid, close the pressure valve, and set to Bean/Chili setting for 55 minutes. When the chili is done release the pressure valve. If you want to add rice to your chili, add equal parts water and uncooked rice to the chili and cook on rice setting

Notes
Serve over rice or with cornbread.

From Heritage Acre

Meat
To start the show you need a good meat that is seasoned well. I use an 80/20 grass fed ground beef and saute it till it is brown and crumbly. Then, you add 1/2 cup of water and taco seasoning. Don’t buy prepackaged seasoning when you can make it and save a ton. Plus, you know and can pronounce the ingredients.

Taco Seasoning:
½ cup salt
⅓ cup paprika
¼ cup garlic powder
4 tbsp onion powder
⅓ cup black pepper
3 tbsp white pepper
2 tbsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp thyme
2 tbsp basil
1 tbsp oregano

Continue to simmer the meat and seasoning mixture till it cooks out most of the liquid.

Taco Fixin’s
Here is where things start to get personal. First, you can either be a crunchy corn tortilla or a soft flour tortilla person. Or both! No judgement here! Hey, it’s homemade tacos were talking about. It’s all good!

Next, cheese…cheddar is pretty standard but I have kids who don’t want any cheese and my husband who likes pepper jack.

Finally, all the extra goodies like lettuce, tomato, onions, jalapenos, cilantro, avocado, or you could get fancy with queso and/or guacamole. Don’t leave out the salsa! Oh, I just remembered sour cream too.

Taco Party
With all these options a taco bar is the way to go. Everyone can prepare their taco to fit their own taco-personality and you can begin eating and not taking everyone’s order.

What about the leftovers?
Ha Ha! As if there are any leftovers. However, if you do have leftover meat…nachos, beef enchiladas, mix the meat in with scrambled eggs for breakfast. One more and I’m done..”Taco ’bout good!” aaand Done!