Show actual country of origin of the food sold to consumers.
For example, beef birthed and grown in another country and only the final processing is done in the U.S. can be labeled as “Product of the US”.
It should be labeled as “Product of country X, processed in the U.S.”. We have no control of what is done to the food produced in other countries prior to processing.
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Here’s an interesting read regarding amount of beef imported per country:
And here’s the USDA information regarding total meat imports and exports, by month, by country, by category:
And finally, the National Ag Law Center’s article on this topic exactly. Up until 2012, this was an issue. But since then, meat packers and retailers have been required to provide the COOL (Country of Origin Labeling) on all retail-ready packaging. However, the 2016 Consolidated Appropriations Act removed COOL labeling requirements from beef and pork muscle cuts and ground beef and pork.
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I’d love the know what farm it’s from too, the additional accountability will help bring quality up
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We need a list of all ingredients, there is no such thing as natural flavoring or natural color. Everything needs to be listed. And any of these chemicals need to be listed in full chemical name not some sub name or generic name.
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It would be counterproductive to have “natural flavors” broken down and listed individually.
Let’s take Castoreum for example, it was widely used as a natural alternative for synthetic Vanilla flavoring. It was cheaper to produce than actual Vanilla extract and is not a synthetic product. Castoreum is produced in the anal glands of the common Beaver. Now knowing that, would you still consume it? It’s natural, safe, and cheap, but comes from a source most people would deem as repulsive.
Should we ban synthetic ingredients? Should we mark products with “This flavoring comes from Beaver anal glands”?
The “Natural Flavor” generic name allows us to use natural sources for items that would otherwise be completely avoided.
Source:
I agree, @JonXDoe. I asked my husband to pick up some garlic at the grocery store. He came back with a packet of five bulbs. They looked pretty good. However, the label was marked, “Produce from China.” I’ve seen first hand the farming practices in China, so we will not be eating these. I’m glad to see it labeled as such, though. We’ll be growing our own garlic very shortly!
Having several food allergies, makes actual food ingredient labeling extremely important. While I don’t eat prepared foods often, the ability to know what, in plain language, is in the prepared foods in it’s entirety is important. My pet peeve, because of my allergy to pepper black, white or red, will often get buried in ‘spices’. I will know usually within a bite or two if pepper is in there, but not only do I have the first rounds of the allergic reaction, I end up tossing the remainder which is a waste of food and money. If the word ‘spices’ actually listed what spices they used, as well as other evasive terms, people would know what they are eating.