Fast food restaurant chain Carl’s Junior has added a plant-based burger to its menu in an effort to attract vegans and vegetarians. U.S. Cattlemen’s Association official Lia Biondo says they’ve also shown up in several other fast food outlets, which is alarming.
She says USCA submitted a petition to USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service asking them to ensure only beef from animals is labeled as such and not allow the label for plant based, cell-cultured or lab grown meat. Biondo says what’s positive is that these products have not shown up yet on grocery store shelves.
Biondo says allowing lab-grown, cell-cultured or plant-based foods to be labeled as meat creates problems with consumers and for traditional meat sources.
Biondo says at the end of 2018, the USDA and FDA agreed to jointly regulate the labeling of meat. However, no further action has taken place due to the partial government shutdown.
