Agricultural News
NCBA's Colin Woodall Calls Out Misconceptions About Fake Meat's Claims of 'Zero-Sum' Production
Fri, 07 Jun 2019 10:51:49 CDT
Colin Woodall, in a recent conversation with Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays, offered his insight as chief lobbyist for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association into the current status of the ongoing discussions surrounding cell-cultured and lab-grown protein products for commercial sale - or "fake meat" as many in the conventional beef industry prefer to call it. According to Woodall, the discussions thus far have led to a memorandum of understanding between the Food & Drug Administration and the US Department of Agriculture. Prior to this agreement, both agencies had asserted jurisdictional authority over the production of these products. Under this MOU, though, both agencies will share in the product's oversight.
"FDA will look at the overall safety of the product and then USDA, once that product is commercialized, will do the daily inspection and ultimately determine what the product is called via the label," Woodall explained. "We're happy with that and we wan to make sure the MOU remains solid even in future administrations. If we can do that, we think we have really won most of the battle when it comes to our fight with cell-based meat."
Despite being the current darling in regard to the media and the financial community, Woodall says there are still a lot of unknowns about the product that he asserts should really be vetted to ensure the public's best interests are considered.
"We don't know what the resource demand is for that product. They may not take the land that we utilize, but there is going to be other resources that it takes to produce that product," he said. "This is not a zero-sum game for them, and I think they have really told a bit of a misleading game in that conversation with consumers."
Listen to Hays' full conversation with Woodall as they discuss the framework of regulation being built around the production of fake meat products and more, on today's Beef Buzz.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today's show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
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