The good news is that Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack wants the meat industry to adapt clearer and more meaningful labeling. The bad news is that, as usual, the USDA is following its usual castrated, unassertive practice in trying to create this change. Get this:
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told several consumer groups Tuesday in a conference call that he will ask the meat industry to voluntarily follow stricter guidelines for new package labels designed to specify a food’s country of origin, according to three people who were on the call. If the industry does not comply, the administration will write new rules, according to those who spoke with Vilsack.
What’s with this voluntary crap, and why even bother with the step of asking for compliance?
Here’s a better way of doing things. Vilsack should just write up the rules he wants, get those regulations passed into law, and then have his agency enforce the law. See, that’s how things work in agencies that aren’t thoroughly corrupted by the companies they oversee. Link.
