A coalition of nine agricultural and consumer organizations sent the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) a letter this week that urges the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to reinstate a meaningful grassfed label for meat.

USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) had overseen a voluntary label program for grassfed livestock products since 2007, but that standard was withdrawn in January. According to the letter, the revocation of that label claim standard provides an opportunity for FSIS to provide clear direction to protect the integrity of the market

Signatories on the letter included the National Farmers Union (NFU), the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), and Organic Valley Cooperative, among other industry groups.

The coalition is encouraging FSIS, as they are currently in the process of updating their guidance for the approval of animal production claims on food labels, to include clear guidance in the guidance on the promotion of animal production practices, such as how an animal is fed. FSIS staff has indicated an intention to include language that provides standards for grassfed labels.

“We strongly oppose any guidance that allows any label claim with the words ‘grassfed’ for any product that does not at a minimum meet the definition within the now revoked AMS label claim standard. To allow a lower labeling standard would mislead consumers, to the detriment of grassfed producers,” the group wrote.

“Protecting truth and accuracy in the information that we provide to consumers is important for the integrity of our family farmers and ranchers and for our industry as a whole,” commented NFU president Roger Johnson. “When AMS decided to withdraw their grassfed labeling claim, it left a gap in the marketplace to define this standard. I am hopeful that FSIS will adopt the former AMS standard as their new guidance for the labeling of grassfed meat products.”

“We spent three years working with AMS to coordinate the robust stakeholder effort that led to the creation of the AMS grassfed label claim standard,” said NSAC Policy Director Ferd Hoefner. “The revocation of the standard by AMS creates a great opportunity for FSIS label guidance, based on the AMS standard, to protect the integrity of the claim and thereby aid both farmers and consumers in this important and growing market.”