How Truthful Is “Product Of The USA”?

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley and several other attorneys general, including Idaho's Raul Labrador, are pushing for the correct use of a “Product of the USA” label for U.S. beef.  Jackley said it’s similar to the “Country of Origin Labeling” push from years past.

“It's the same concept. So, what we've experienced across the United States and here in South Dakota is that there's a mislabeling of beef by certain manufacturers," Jackley said.  "What we have going is that beef is coming in from Mexico and other places, and they're putting ‘Product of the USA’ labeling on it. So, a couple of ranchers here in South Dakota filed a lawsuit. We filed a brief to assist. We initially won, and it was appealed by the manufacturers, and so I led a group of about a dozen attorneys general, Republican and Democrat. They're standing up for ranchers and saying we have high-quality beef in the United States and here in South Dakota, we take pride in our herds, we keep our herds safe and healthy, vaccinations and other sometimes costly means to keep that herd healthy, and we just feel it's a mislabeling, and it's a falsehood to call beef from another country a ‘Product of the USA.’”

This Is Important To Ranchers And Consumers

There is a possibility that this case could advance as far as the Supreme Court.

“It could. The manufacturers did what's called an interim appeal. When they appealed it to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, that's when I felt I needed help. And I reached out to several attorneys general, and they've been gracious," Jackley said.  "They've been helpful. They know how important this is to their ranchers and to the consumers. I mean, when a consumer walks into the market and sees ‘Product of the USA,’ they just expect it to be from that healthy herd here in the United States, and we need to make sure it is.” 

These Are Ag States Fighting For Ranchers

Jackley added it’s hard to understand how important the issue is if you don’t live in beef-producing states.

“One of the challenges is that they don't always seem to understand it. I'm fortunate. I have a ranch and a farm, and so I'm able to have conversations with them about what that means. I've actually had 28 attorneys general come hunting on my ranch, and so I had an opportunity to introduce them to some of the experiences we have in South Dakota. They're always good conversations. But when you look at the 11 attorneys general that joined this, it's really from the Ag states. It's from South Dakota, Wyoming, you have North Dakota, you have New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, and Oklahoma. It's those attorneys general that live in beef country and know how important this really is.” 

Click Here to read that entire brief.

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