September 13, 2024

 

Missouri, US livestock producers demand for restoration of country-of-origin labeling for beef in next farm bill

 

 

Livestock producers in Missouri, the United States, are pushing the US Congress to restore country-of-origin labeling for beef in the next farm bill, believing it will boost their cattle's market value.

 

They're also calling on the country's next administration to finalise rules started by the Biden Administration to ensure fair treatment from large meatpackers and poultry companies.

 

Tim Gibbons, communications director at the Missouri Crisis Center, an organisation helping to preserve family farms, said the food system has become increasingly monopolised, due to widespread consolidation.

 

"Those family farmers go out of business," said Gibbons. "It gives more control over those monopolistic food system, it extracts wealth from our communities. But, it also allows them to charge consumers more because there's a lack of competition in the marketplace."

 

Gibbons said if finalised, proposed amendments to the Packers and Stockyards Act would set clear guidelines for applying and enforcing prohibitions against unfair practices.

 

Gibbons explained that the Packers and Stockyards Act, a 100 year-old anti-trust law, hasn't been properly updated until now to tackle modern market consolidations.

 

He said this leaves small producers at a disadvantage.

 

"When these new rules become law, we're going to work, to push even more on the enforcement of anti-trust laws and the strengthening of those laws, so that we can have real capitalism," Gibbons added.

 

He emphasised that family farmers in Missouri and across the US are fighting for these laws to secure not only their own livelihoods, but also the future of farming for generations to come.

- KMA Land