Let's say you're the sort who avoids genetically modified food. How do you know your steak has been exercising the same restraint? Until now, you didn't, but now the USDA has approved a non-GMO label for meat and "liquid egg products," the New York Times reports. The label, which comes from the Non-GMO Project rather than the government, certifies that Bessie didn't eat any genetically engineered food before heading to the slaughterhouse.
It's the first GMO-free label the USDA has approved for meat, though the department hastened to say that it didn't represent "any new policy regarding non-GE or non-GMO products," which is something of a hot button issue in the agriculture industry. The USDA has a standing policy of allowing third-party groups to certify products, as long as their claims are accurate. (More GMO stories.)