Where’d the beef come from?
Most grass-fed beef labeled “Product of U.S.A.” is actually imported from overseas.
But you wouldn't know that, thanks to the power meatpackers like Brazil’s JBS and China’s Smithfield have over the U.S. government.
Things are starting to change. Starting in 2026, the voluntary “Product of USA” label may only be affixed to meat from animals that were born, raised, slaughtered, and processed in the United States of America.
Still, we’re a long way from the promise the U.S. Department of Agriculture made back in 2009, when it required all imported beef be labeled in the grocery store the same way it was declared to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
TAKE ACTION: Tell Congress you want mandatory country-of-origin meat labeling!
If you’re like most consumers, you choose grass-fed beef because of its health benefits.
Grass-fed and grass-finished beef is better for your health, and clearly better for animals.
It’s also better for the planet.
Beef from industrial factory farm feedlots has a gargantuan carbon footprint. The combined emissions of the top five beef companies are on par with those of ExxonMobil.
Grass-fed beef done right can actually be a climate solution. (Watch Soil Carbon Cowboys or Allan Savory’s TED Talk to learn more).
Grass-fed beef from just about anywhere on the planet is better than factory farmed feedlot beef, even—or especially—when that feedlot beef is local. No one wants to live near a beef feedlot. Not unless they want to be exposed to polluted water and fouled air that doesn’t just stink, but contains toxic gasses and vapors, as well as floating bits of “fecal matter, feed materials, skin cells, and products of microbial degradation of feces and urine” that can be small enough to inhale and thick enough to coat everything they touch with a layer of grime.
But if you care about the environment, you also don’t want grass-fed beef that’s been imported from Brazil.
Why? About 90 percent of the beef produced in Brazil is grass-fed. But contrary to that being a good thing, raising beef cattle in Brazil is actually the No. 1 driver of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.
To make good choices, consumers need mandatory country-of-origin labeling on beef.
TAKE ACTION: Tell Congress to Stop “Product of U.S.A.” Labeling Fraud! Support the Senate’s American Beef Labeling Act (S.52) and the House of Representatives’ Country of Origin Labeling Enforcement Act (H.R. 5081)!
Personal Information
*SAMPLE TEXT TO YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS*
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Dear Member of Congress,
Please support the Senate’s American Beef Labeling Act (S.52) and the House of Representatives’ Country of Origin Labeling Enforcement Act (H.R. 5081).
It’s great that as of 2026, the “Product of the U.S.A.” label will only go to beef and beef products exclusively derived from one or more animals born, raised and slaughtered in the United States.
But, what we really need is mandatory country-of-origin labeling on all beef.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Your Name