I was picking up some ground beef at Roche Bros. in West Roxbury on 10/12/08, and for the 1st time, I noticed that most of the packages were marked "Product of US, Canada, Mexico". My guess is that it's from Mexico. I found this alarming, and so did another shopper. I did find one kind of ground beef on display, much more expensive, that was solely from the US.
I am going to check out Stop & Shop and Shaw's to see if things are the same there.
Has anyone else noticed?
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Comments
NAFTA at work
By liveinvt
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 11:06am
This has a lot to do with our favorite Regional Trade Agreement, NAFTA.
If a certain percentage of the final product derived from the three NAFTA countries, it must be labeled as such.
So if the cows were raised in Mexico, murdered and sliced in the USA, and packaged with styrofoam from Canada, they would most likely have to include all three countries in the label as origins of the product.
And if the responsible parties are cost efficient, it might be in their best interest to simply include all three countries if there is a possibility that they should be included, to avoid any potential liability from not including a country which should have been included.
Speculating on where the meat itself actually originated is up to the public.
Here's an article on the topic:
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0225-02.htm
If meat safety has you concerned, do check out meat alternatives, like beans and vegetables. Cheers :D
but that's not true.
By m750
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 1:52pm
It has nothing to do with nafta. It has to do with country of origin labeling that is now required on some foods. see my earlier post for more details and links.
AO
Why is this "alarming"?
By Whit
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 11:24am
Shouldn't farmers in Mexico be able to sell their products here? We surely do sell ours to them. In fact, my understanding is that our unfair subsidies of such Mexican dietary staples as corn have driven Mexican farmers out of business--thus fueling the influx of Mexican workers to the US.
Sure, Mexico can sell it's products here...
By newchristine
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 12:40pm
I just want to know where the products came from. Liveinvt explained why the 3 countries show on the packaging....I will stick to the US beef, and the Mexican Kahlua (which I think is now made in the US)!
Was this prepared patties,
By NotWhitey
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 11:36am
Was this prepared patties, or some other frozen product? I never touch the stuff - always buy fresh ground. There's nothing like fresh murdered cow to make my lips smack and my mouth water!
Fresh Ground is where I saw the label....
By newchristine
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 12:35pm
I don't buy the frozen stuff.
Fresh kilt
By Gareth
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 1:08pm
Fresh ground doesn't mean fresh killed. They just cut off the green parts in the back and shove it in the grinder. The beef itself is assorted chunks from multiple steers from who-knows-where, including, apparently, Mexico.
It's not NAFTA, it's called COOL
By m750
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 11:46am
It has nothing to do with nafa, it's the latest country of origin laws as described here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/01/business/01food....
and here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26890660/
It was passed as part the 2002 Farm Bill, but has been delayed many times.
I don't find mexican / canadian / american alarming, I find the fact that certain foods exempt more alarming.
Just another reason to support your local farms.
AO
Cool with me
By liveinvt
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 12:31pm
Yeah, or that, sure
Goddamn Mexican cows, takin
By Spatch
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 12:05pm
Goddamn Mexican cows, takin all our jobs. Moo.
No, not our jobs
By adamg
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 12:06pm
But they are chewin' all our cud.
So remember: Brown cows are local cows and local cows are ...
meat
By Michael
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 12:35pm
They're filling the sandwiches American meats won't fill.
They also will cut your
By Spatch
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 1:28pm
They also will cut your grass for cheap.
Stop & Shop, South Bay Center
By tape
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 12:33pm
had a few signs hanging over the beef area. I wasn't shopping for beef so I didn't get a close look at what particular cuts were the target of the signage, but it was there.
Why does this matter?
By Ron Newman
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 1:40pm
Has there been some recent problem involving Mexican beef? If not, why should I care about this?
Furriners
By Gareth
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 1:51pm
Meskin steers r furriners.
I don't like furrin beef.
Yeah really? In fact, Id
By J
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 3:46pm
Yeah really?
In fact, Id guess that mexican beef has less hormones than american beef and is probably fed off the land instead of processed feed.
Needs a good answer
By Kaz
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 5:00pm
That's a good question. This post just comes across to me as a pile of xenophobia cow dung.
Yep
By Stewart
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 5:05pm
Please explain why you're so het up about that horrible no-good very bad Mexican beef. Answers that quote Lou Dobbs will be disqualified.
Bad as the FDA is, I would rather buy US products...
By newchristine
Thu, 10/16/2008 - 12:36pm
I really feel sad when I see more and more food, clothing, etc. NOT made in the US. I would like items for sale clearly marked as to point of origin so I can make my choice.
BTW, I did see the same tri-country labeling at Shaw's.
US Products
By liveinvt
Thu, 10/16/2008 - 2:40pm
Where do you shop? I would wager that everything you're wearing right now is not American-made. So while your intentions are good, your actions probably conflict with them.
But if you really do want your actions to match your intentions, you could try at least buying second-hand clothing (not new), or US-based clothing vendors, like No Sweat:
http://nosweatapparel.com/
I do shop at Savers...
By newchristine
Thu, 10/16/2008 - 4:47pm
2nd hand clothing~you are right, they have more US-made goods.
Thanks for the No Sweat link!
Uhhh...
By eeka
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 9:35pm
You're willing to eat blood and muscles and skin that used to be walking around and mooing, yet you're getting all squeamish about what country it comes from?
http://1smootshort.blogspot.com