• james
• Sep 17,2008
• In: Health & Fitness

Country of Origin Labels Required on all US Meat

A new federal law will require food manufactures and grocery stores to put new labels on all meat they sell stating what country the meat originated. The “Country of Origin Label” law, or the COOL law as it is being called, goes into effect on September 30th.

The new labels will tell consumers whether their food came from animals raised in the U.S. or another country. The law also covers perishable items, such as fruits and vegetables and a variety of nuts. Some say this will enable consumers to avoid food that, for example, comes from countries that they have heard have food safety problems. It also will allow consumers to stick to American-grown food, if that is their preference.

Because of the complexities of the livestock industry, some product labels may list multiple countries. That’s especially true of ground beef, because some meat processors combine cuts from a number of countries to make ground meat and hamburger patties.

Wait, so my hamburger is made from meat of multiple cows, from multiple countries? I’m sorry, but that is absolutely disgusting. If your main source of hamburger is McDonalds’ then you needn’t worry, as you are already knowingly ingesting all manor of unforgivable disgustingness.

For those of us who don’t knowingly eat trans fat and cow dung in our burgers, where does that leave us when we want a tasty grilled all-American meal? I recommend packing your own burgers. With the new COOL labels coming out in a couple weeks, it should be relatively easy to track down some ground beef that doesn’t have more than one country listed on it’s origin label. Just remember to get 85% lean if you plan on grilling, any leaner and there won’t be enough fat for it to cook properly.

From there you just need some buns (preferable whole wheat without any partially-hydrogenated ingredients) and cheese. The exception would be if this is for a post-workout meal, in which case you want white buns for fast carbs. Feel free to get creative and add other ingredients like spinach, bacon, or cheese to the ground beef to mold your own uniquely delicious burgers.

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