Peeling Back the Label!

ByTaylor Stutz, Allie Misner,

Amanda Mills and Carmen Lopez

To earn this label, foods must be produced without the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, sludge, irradiation, or genetically modified seeds, according to the agency. Ex: Cows must have access to pasture a minimum of 120 days per year

“100% Organic”: when 100% of the ingredients and methods are organic “Organic”: when 95% or more of the ingredients/methods fit the bill “Made with Organic”: 70% or more fit the bill

Cannot include official seal No seal: 70% or less fit the bill

Certification that looks at economic, social, and environmental criteria Farmers paid living wages and have safe working conditions Child labor prohibited

Fair Trade premiums invested in community development Ex: training and organic certification

Products with seal in the US: Coffee, tea, herbs, cocoa, chocolate, fresh fruit, sugar, rice, and

vanilla

Overseen by the Rainforest AllianceAims to reduce water pollution and soil erosion, protect

human health, conserve wildlife habitat, improve livelihoods, and reduce waste

More than 84,500 farms (totaling ~1.8 million acres) – in South America, SE Asia, and Africa – have been Rainforest Alliance certified

Chief products: coffee, cocoa, tea, nuts, fruits

Requires certifiers to assess farm or ranch in five areas: Soil and water conservation Safe and fair working conditions Limiting pesticide use and toxicity with integrated pest management Animal welfare Habitat conservation

Given high marks by industry Products with this label are known to be of quality

350 food producers certified Grown by nearly 79% in last four years

Takes a whole farm approachRequires foods to be produced organically,

without use of synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, or animal by-products

Requires 10% of farm’s total land to be set aside for fostering biodiversity and the humane treatment of animals

Prohibits use of genetic engineering

Promotes a very specific form of sustainability not covered by the organic umbrella: Protecting salmon streams in the Pacific

Northwest from farm runoff, chemicals, and erosion

Often combined with USDA Organic to provide a “beyond organic” certification

To date: accredited more than 60,000 farm acres and more than 200 vineyards

Developed by Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center

Independently certifies organic shade-grown coffeeProvide important sanctuaries for migrating birds

Criteria: tree canopy height, plant diversity, shade coverage, and streamside plant borders

Endorsed by several animal welfare and food safety organizationsIncluding ASPCA

Focuses on humane animal care standards, birth through slaughter“Animals must be free to move about and ‘engage in

natural behavior’”Cages, crates, and tie stalls are prohibitedUse of growth hormones and prophylactic antibiotics prohibited

Three-tier system of color-coded labels that ranks seafood products according to sustainability criteriaCatch location and fishing method – long line or hook

and line Non-profit founded by two graduate students in

the Ocean Sciences Dept. at the University of California-Santa Cruz

Each report reviewed externally for scientific content and accuracy

Grew out of the public’s frustration that GMO (Genetically Modified Organic) foods do not require labeling in the US

Label claims that foods are made following the “best practices of GMO avoidance”Cross-contamination and pollen drift make it

difficult to guarantee that a food is entirely free of genetically modified ingredients

Developed as a result of farmers’ readiness to make the shift from conventional farming, while not completing going organic, as it is not as sustainable Ex: Avoid harmful pesticides

Group of Wisconsin potato growers decided to after an especially toxic chemical (aldicarb) started showing up in local groundwater

Developed plan to reduce overall use of chemicals and eliminate highly toxic ones completely

Working with the University of Wisconsin, the World Wildlife Fund, the International Crane Foundation, and Defenders of Wildlife

To earn this label, farmers must also restore some of their farmland to prairie or wetlands

“Raised Without Antibiotics”

Usually means that antibiotics were used at some stage in the production processEx: Tyson foods, the second-largest US chicken

producer, was labeling some chickens as “raised without antibiotics” despite the fact that they were injecting the eggs with an antibiotic and was using a non-human one in its chicken feed on a daily basis

Considered unapprovable by the USDA because there is no verification system in use for this statement

“Natural”One of the most egregiously abused labels, since it

doesn’t have to mean anythingUsually lumped together with “organic” productsUSDA has defined the term only for use on fresh

meatDefined as: nothing added to the cut of meat itself

Therefore, you could have a cloned animal eating genetically modified food and being fed antibiotics everyday, but the product could still be labeled as “natural”

“Free Range/Roaming”All a farmer has to do to label a product as “free

range” is to “show that the poultry has been allowed access to the outside,” according to the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection ServiceEx: Five minutes outside per day can still receive a

certificationBAD!!

No feeding restrictionsLax regulationBeef and egg-laying hens are completely unregulated

“United Egg Producers Certified”

Devised by United Egg ProducersFalsely implies that the chickens have been

treated humanelyEx: Cramped cages, starvation-based molting,

dehydrated birds, denial of veterinary careReplaces the even more misleading Animal

Care Certified label, which was banned by the Federal Trade Commission

“American Humane Certified”

Program of American Humane AssociationPermits both caged and cage-free options for

egg-laying hensEx: Caged-hen can be crammed into a space the

size of a sheet of paperEx: Forced molting through starvation is prohibitedEx: Beak cutting allowed

Poor regulatory aims

“Dolphin Safe”

Partially certified claim because National Marine Fisheries Service verifies only tuna caught in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, not all tuna

No universal standards in place and most companies have developed their own logos for tuna products

“Grass Fed”

Look for “100% Grass Fed”All cows eat grass when they’re young

Better to look for: USDA Process Verified ShieldProves that the agency has defined that the cows

were fed a lifetime diet of 100% grass and forage, with no grains or grain products

Cows must also have pasture during most of the growing season

“Nutri Clean Residue Free Certification”

Scientist Certification System’s Nutri Clean Program Implies that a food bearing this label is free from

pesticide residue Isn’t entirely accurate: prgram merely tests products for

pesticide residue and sets limits for the detection of specific ones

Doesn’t necessarily mean that pesticides weren’t used to grow the food

Label really offers nothing Levels set by this label are the same required by the EPA

“Marine Stewardship Council”Started as a noble initiative between World Wildlife

Fun and Unilever, a major fish retailerConsidered one of the biggest seafood certifiers

Major scientists criticize the program and say that it needs radical reformThey question the sustainable certification of several fisheries that

in recent years have experienced massive declinesCouncil is not a non-profit

Receives financial contributions from corporations that sell MSC-labeled seafoodConflict of interest!

FALSE ADVERTISING!• Some common labels are so vague as to be utter

nonsense. The terms below have no standards or definitions, or any method of verification. Thus the producer can use them in any way it sees fit, with no repercussions.– Cruelty free– Cage free– Environmentally friendly– Nature’s friend– No chemicals– Vegetarian Fed

Citations

www.audobonmagazine.org