Some people might be surprised by it, but I no longer pay attention to labels on meat products. For years, in pursuit of the world's finest artisan meat, I have travelled the country meeting with chefs and farmers, and over and over again I hear that labels and certifications are not meaningful or helpful, and can be manipulated to distort the reality.
A good example is the 'organic' mark. Owing to the the popularity of grass-fed, grass-finished and organic beef, industrial feedlots (usually located in dry climates) are being repurposed to feed trucked-in organic certified grass pellets from cattle so that they can be sold to customers. It's not the organic things I want to buy.
Instead, since I know the farmers who raise the meat I eat, I know that I'm getting consistency, taste, nutrition and high ethical practises. I know how the animals have been raised and how their land is handled. And I know I'm being influenced not by a mark, but by the farm.
