UFCW International President Marc Perrone, who will join Biden at the White House for the signing of the order, said “today’s action puts workers and consumers first by strengthening oversight of meatpacking monopolies that suppress wages and drive up food prices at the grocery store. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, however, was quick to praise the new order. No sector - cow-calf, feedlot, nor packer - has realized positive margins every year.” The North American Meat Institute said it would have more to say after the official unveiling of the order - which Biden is expected to sign Friday afternoon at the White House - but NAMI spokesperson Sarah Little said, “The bottom-line is, the current level of four-firm concentration has existed for more than 25 years and it has not ensured packer profitability at the expense of producers. “Four large meatpacking companies dominate over 80% of the beef market and, over the last five years, farmers’ share of the price of beef has dropped by more than a quarter - from 51.5% to 37.3% - while the price of beef has risen,” the fact sheet says. “That means they get less when they sell their produce and meat - even as prices rise at the grocery store.”Īs an example, the fact sheet cited the “Big Four” meatpacking companies - Tyson, JBS, Cargill and National Beef - without mentioning them by name. Third, the rulemakings will reinforce the longstanding USDA position that it is not necessary to demonstrate harm or likely harm to competition in order to establish a violation of the Act."Ĭorporate consolidation has been bad for farmers and ranchers, limiting their options when it comes to selling their products, the White House says. Second, they will address oppressive practices in chicken processing. In a press release issued Friday, USDA reiterated its intentions: "The rulemakings will clarify the conduct that USDA considers a violation of the Packers and Stockyards Act, including conduct that is unfair, deceptive, or unjustly discriminatory against farmers and growers. The department "will propose a new poultry grower tournament system rule, with the current inactive proposal to be withdrawn," USDA said, and "will re-propose a rule to clarify that parties do not need to demonstrate harm to competition in order to bring an action under section 202(a) and 202(b) of the P&S Act." Last month, the department said it would in the coming months "propose a new rule that will provide greater clarity to strengthen enforcement of unfair and deceptive practices, undue preferences, and unjust prejudices." The executive order formalizes what USDA has already announced. The chicken industry is a model of success - from farm to table - and one of the least consolidated industries in animal agriculture." Brown said "chicken companies have waiting lists of potential family farms that want to partner with them and enter into the chicken business." Reacting to the order, National Chicken Council President Mike Brown said, "This looks like a solution in search of a problem. In particular, he said it should not be necessary for producers to show harm to the entire industry, which he called "virtually an impossible standard." Regarding changes in the P&S Act, he said USDA would also be acting as swiftly as it can "to draw clear and bright lines" on what constitutes an unfair practice. At a press conference in Iowa Friday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the department would move "aggressively" to adopt new rules to improve the poultry grower ranking system, which is used to determine the prices growers receive for their flocks.
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