USDA announces new rule: “Product of USA” label will only be allowed on homegrown meat products

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - Ranching has historically been a prominent industry in South Dakota and in the United States as a whole.

Many grocery shoppers like to purchase meat from local sources to support ranchers in their communities, or at least, ranchers in their country. So, when the meat comes from foreign sources and ends up on the shelves with a label claiming to be homegrown, this becomes frustrating for the producers who need to make a profit to offset the rising input costs of ranching.

Vaughn Meyer is a tenured rancher and former president of the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association. He explained how some companies have skirted the rules about claiming their product was made in the United States.

“They’re packaging it here, or repackaging it, or maybe mixing it with some other product,” said Meyer. “It’s misleading to consumers and it’s kind of a downfall against producers.”

Many ranchers were pleased to hear the U. S. Department of Agriculture will be cracking down on these false claims.

For meat or egg products to display a label claiming to be made in America, the animals which they came from will need to be born, raised, slaughtered, and processed all in the United States going forward. Meyer and others from the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association noted this was a step in the right direction and urged consumers to support legislation backing up this rule in the future.

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