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Iowa Cattlemen’s official speaks out on ‘fake meat’

One of the cattle industry representatives who provided public comment at this week’s USDA-FDA meeting on lab-grown, cell-cultured meat was JanLee Rowlett with the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association.

“We advocated for USDA jurisdiction over this issue, especially from a food safety standpoint,” says Rowlett. “We want to make sure that consumers can continue to go to the grocery and feel good about the purchases that they’re making.”

Misleading product names and labels are also a concern. Rowlett says it’s important to protect “beef” and other terms consumers associate with meat products made from livestock raised by farmers and ranchers.

“Of course, the producers of these (alternative) products want to kind of ride on the coat tails of the long-standing tradition that we have of producing something that’s tasty and nutritious and safe and use those terms themselves. But we want to make sure that consumers know what they’re getting when they go and make purchasing decisions at the grocery store.”

Rowlett cites FDA’s failure to enforce labeling rules for plant-based products claiming to be milk as another reason why USDA should have primary oversight of new alternative protein products.

ICA board member bob Noble, a cattle producer from Mitchell County, also provided input at the meeting.

AUDIO: JanLee Rowlett