Marketplace®

Daily business news and economic stories

Where’s the beef (from)?

New rules say that meat must be labeled with where the animal it came from was born, raised, and slaughtered.

New federal rules kick in tomorrow, and they’ll beef up a current law that mandates labeling a meat’s country-of-origin. So instead of a basic note stating a lamb chop came from New Zealand, the label would state where the lamb was born, raised and slaughtered. The move is seen by some as a victory for food safety and a consumer’s right to knowledge.

Meat packers, however, aren’t likely to be pleased, says Daniel Sumner, agricultural economics professor at the University of California, Davis.

“Things are moving quickly, and for them to keep track of each individual animal just adds costs,” he says.

Click the audio player above to hear more about the new rules.

Related Topics

Tagged as: