skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, July 26, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Arson attacks paralyze French high-speed rail network hours before start of Olympics, the Obamas endorse Harris for President; A NY county creates facial recognition, privacy protections; Art breathes new life into pollution-ravaged MI community; 34 Years of the ADA.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Harris meets with Israeli PM Netanyahu and calls for a ceasefire. MI Rep. Rashida Tlaib faces backlash for a protest during Netanyahu's speech. And VA Sen. Mark Warner advocates for student debt relief.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

There's a gap between how rural and urban folks feel about the economy, Colorado's 'Rural is Rad' aims to connect outdoor businesses, more than a dozen of Maine's infrastructure sites face repeated flooding, and chocolate chip cookies rock August.

"Product of USA" label for meat items could carry more weight under new rule

play audio
Play

Tuesday, April 30, 2024   

Big players in the beef and poultry industry face pressure to prepare for a new federal rule for "Product of USA" labels. And advocates for smaller farmers and ranchers see an opportunity for those operations to reach more customers. Companies selling meat products in grocery stores have until early 2026 to comply with the USDA rule announced this spring. "Product of USA" labels are sometimes slapped on a meat item for sale. Firms that outsource production overseas have been doing it because the item was packaged in the U.S. But now, all of the animal production has to be done domestically to use the label.

Mark Watne, North Dakota Farmers Union President, likes the move.

"In some respect, it should give a U.S. producer a distinctive advantage to the consumer that desires a product that is born, raised, slaughtered, processed in the U.S.," he said.

Watne said non-corporate farms and small processors won't have to worry about big meatpacking companies - who opt for cheaper, less regulated production in foreign countries - making the claim. While the rule is binding, use of the label is voluntary. Watne added advocates still have a long way to go in getting stronger mandates under country-of-origin labeling. Critics of such moves worry about disrupting international markets.

Watne said the revised rule being phased in should make things less confusing for shoppers willing to pay a little extra if given assurances of where the product was produced.

"So, if you want something that's labeled product of the U.S., then you want to know that it went through the same and equal standards, rules and regulations that a U.S. producer goes through, " he contended.

Supporters of the USDA action suggest removing the loophole means consumers won't be taken advantage of or have to second-guess the packaging information they look at. The move comes amid new federal data showing the number of farms shrinking around the country as market concentration remains a force within agriculture.

Disclosure: North Dakota Farmers Union contributes to our fund for reporting on Rural/Farming. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
According to the Tax Policy Center, for higher-income earners, sales taxes consume a lower share of their income than for other households. (Vitalii Vodolazskyi/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

As Nebraska state lawmakers convene for a special session on property tax reform called by Gov. Jim Pillen, groups are weighing in on the details …


play sound

Traveling around rural Minnesota can be difficult but in more than half the state, nonprofit transit systems are helping people get where they need …

Social Issues

play sound

Student loan forgiveness took center stage on Thursday at the American Federation of Teachers conference. The Biden administration has canceled more …


Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has introduced legislation to codify the Chevron Deference into law. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Recent Supreme Court rulings on air pollution are affecting Virginia and the nation. Climate advocates said the court overstepped its bounds in …

Health and Wellness

play sound

World Hepatitis Day is this Sunday, and for the Oregon Health Authority, it's an opportunity to promote its plan to eliminate hepatitis across the …

The Gender Shades project revealed facial recognition performed poorest for darker-skinned women, and performed best for lighter-skinned men. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Columbia County, New York, is implementing new facial recognition and privacy policies, following new upgrades to the county's surveillance cameras…

Health and Wellness

play sound

New York disability-rights advocates are celebrating the 34th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The 1990 …

Social Issues

play sound

As summer winds down and North Carolina students prepare to return to school, the focus shifts to the urgent need for better public education funding…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021