USDA seeks to weaken standards for organic beef

by Nick Vagnoni, Posted Jul 24th 2006 @ 10:04AM

The USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service is seeking to increase the number of substances that could be used on cows that are to be deemed organic. CattleNetwork.com has a list of all eight substances, most of which are used to combat maladies common to feedlot cattle. The list includes bismuth subsalicylate, the active ingredient in Pepto-Bismol, which would be used for stomach ulcer relief, as well as poloxalene, used to keep cattle from getting bloated. Both bloating and ulcers are often the result of a corn-heavy diet that grass-eating cows aren't used to. NewsTarget.com also reports on the proposed changes, but with a bit more of a slant than CattleNetwork.

Filed Under: Farming, Business, Newspapers, Health & Medical, Ingredients
Tags: america, beef, broadening, bse, drugs, mad cow, organic, standards, usda, weakening

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

7-24-2006 @8:57PM Adam said... Here we go again.
It was only a matter of time before government regulations started to get compromised due to pressure from agribusiness. Okay that's just speculation. But I'd hate to see a good idea go the way of No Child Left Behind and the Clean Air Act. Sorry if that's unclear for non-U.S. readers (or U.S. readers, for that matter).
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7-24-2006 @11:03PM mmm said... Umm if a primarily cornbased diet causes the cows to get ulcers and gets them bloated, then maybe, just maybe, it's better to change their food rather than doping them with chemicals.
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