Labeling is BS and the Anti-Ags Know It
by M. P. Cremer
Former President Bill Clinton is famous for a few things, but when I think of Big Bill, I think of the phrase he said to a Grand Jury, “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.”
Is this because I heard a college professor of mine say it almost every single class or because I love a good “gotcha” moment with words? A little bit of both. Nevertheless, I think it was pretty dadgum genius what Bill did: he didn’t *technically* lie but also didn’t exactly tell the truth.
See, although the former president did have a relationship with Miss Monica Lewinsky, when he said “there’s nothing going on between us,” he wasn’t lying because in fact, at that moment, nothing was going on.
Had he said “there was nothing going on between us,” he would’ve lied, but Ole Billy knew how to keep himself in line through strategic wording.
I’m referencing this story because that’s the situation agriculture, specifically the food system, is in right now. We have a major problem with wording, or rather, labeling.
If I’ve said it once I’ve said it 10 million times…labeling is absolute bull.
My reasoning for thinking this way? For starters, the qualifications of specific labels are, at best, weak.
A popular label we often see at the grocery store is “Non-GMO Project Verified.” But the kicker is: there are thousands of Non-GMO Project Verified products listed on the Project’s website, yet only 10 legal GMO crops available for harvest in the United States.
Granted, some of these products on the Project’s list could potentially contain GMO’s — but not all of them even have the possibility to do so.
The list of FDA approved GMO’s are: corn, soybean, cotton, potato, papaya, summer squash, canola, alfalfa, apple, and sugar beet.
Do you see chopped kale on that list? Blackberries? Eggs?
No — but for some odd reason these items (and many more) are listed on the Non-GMO Project Verified’s product page.
Another thing that really bothers me with labeling is wording such as “free range” and “cage free.”
I see labels like these every single time I go to the grocery store. I normally just roll my eyes and walk on, but this week, given sudden anti-ag interest labels like these, I did some investigating.
In 2016, the USDA published a document pertaining to shell egg labels that contain the USDA grademark.
Under the “Free Range Eggs” category, USDA wrote:
The term is not codified by either FDA or USDA/AMS. The term is misleading because the statement of identity is “EGGS” not Free Range Eggs.
Suggested Verbiage – Eggs that originated from a Free-Range environment.
Once the Statement of Identity (EGGS) has been met, you can combine “Free-Range” with “Eggs”.
Free Range definition: Eggs packed in USDA grade marked consumer packages labeled as free range must be produced by hens housed in a building, room, or area that allows for unlimited access to food, water, and continuous access to the outdoors during their laying cycle. The outdoor area may be fenced and/or covered with netting-like material.
Now there’s a couple things I want you to think about here, the first being that when you see Free Range Eggs labeled on some eggs, it’s B.S.
The second being that even though the USDA suggests different verbiage, it’s still not exactly the best way to label because free-range should not mean free-range in a building!
That’s like someone saying “oh, I’m not under arrest, I can do what I want!” Then being home bound because they’re under house arrest. It just doesn’t make sense — but that’s how it is, and it’s ridiculous if you ask me.
My last and final point I want to make is actually made in the image I’ve attached with this blog: does any of it really matter?
The original poster of the status says it themselves, “Free range, grass fed, organic, local or whatever…! They all end up at being killed at the slaughterhouse. There is no kind way to exploit and abuse animals…”
And you know what I think? She’s right. No matter what condition an animal was raised in, even if they’re certified by Jesus himself as “the most humanly raised animal of all time,” it’s still going to end up on our plates.
