Guest essay by Eric Worrall
According to The Guardian, large meat processing plants have focussed too much on keeping costs down. But they disregard the consequences of not keeping costs down.
Meat-free future? Coronavirus exposes America’s fragile food system
Supply chain problems and workplace infection risks mean experts are urging US producers to focus on sustainability
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But for some critical observers, the crisis in America’s huge industrial meat production sector came as no real surprise. Will Harris, a cattleman at White Oak Pastures in southern Georgia, said he always knew a “trainwreck” would hit the factory farming industry.
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“For the past 70 years, big multinational corporations have moved our food system further and further down the road of focusing only on efficiency, only on taking costs out of production,” Harris said. “And in doing that they created a very fragile food system where a lot of things can go wrong.”
But Harris said there is an alternative: his style of farming.
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A lobby which represents cattle farmers and ranchers, R-Calf USA, wrote to the White House urging it to consider restructuring the beef industry so there are more plants owned by more people. “This high level of physical and geographical concentration of America’s vital beef supply chain is intuitively and inherently contrary to America’s food security interests, as now unequivocally demonstrated by Covid-19,” the letter said.
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“This is an opportunity for meat-eaters to join together with sustainable producers of meat, and with meat and dairy industry workers, to all unite together and say we want a better system,” said Nina Ichikawa, executive director for the Berkeley Food Institute, which seeks to expand access to healthy, affordable food.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/10/coronavirus-america-meat-food-system-farming
In my opinion this is a disguised attempt to make meat less affordable, under the guise of making the food chain more sustainable and resilient, by attempting to use Covid-19 as an excuse to insert green policy objectives into US food processing regulations.
If a large meat packing plant closes temporarily because of Covid, obviously this is bad news for the workers, but in terms of food supply a temporary closure is a blip. A temporary closure or two is certainly not an excuse for a permanent shut down of all big meat processing plants.
There is room in the market for premium meat like Harris Farm. I buy expensive gourmet meat because I like the flavour. But I also remember a time when I couldn’t afford expensive meat, when my only option to feed my family was to buy the cheapest factory processed meat I could find.
Reforming the industry to eliminate cheap factory produced meat would be a disastrous attack on the protein intake of poor people. Guardian authors might be able to afford gourmet meat, or expensive vegan alternatives to meat protein, but the poorest people would simply go hungry.
When reading anything put out by the Guardian (something I do not recommend if you wish to retain a sense of balance and sanity) always remember, they have an agenda to promote left wing ideology.
Their modus operandi is always the same. They start an article with a kernel of facts, that seed base, is then advanced step by step, into an example of the dastardly integrated planning skills employed by the heinous capitalists to subdue and control the proletariat.
Unfortunately, (for them) their own desire to control everything is exposed by their ongoing argument against entrepreneurs and business in general. That Guardian position, always ends up with a call to ban open markets/capitalism. The alternative to free markets and all that entails, being one world control group that are always going to provide benign and positive decisions for everyone everywhere…..
The take away is, avoid reading the Guardian until you understand its role in the left’s pan world agenda.
Too few players dominate the meat processing industry. They can afford lobbyists who pushed competition-crushing regulations.
I think we need to eliminate laws and regulations that stifle free-market competition.
Concentration of meat processing is less about efficiency, more about controlling the food supply for profit. And just now in the news, Smithfield exporting pork to China in record numbers after the new year, Smithfield own by China as you know. Maybe some of you know that during the potato famine in Ireland they kept on exporting beef, everything then in Ireland of course owned by the British. There is no efficiency in concentration of meat processing, animals have to be trucked long distances etc. etc. etc. all about Big Meat being able to vertically integrate, kill of competition and use cheap labor. And then Big Meat is importing meat from the strangest places in the world and putting in stores without telling the consumer where it came from, was able to kill label of origin laws. The truth is, Big Business, Big Meat included, is the enemy of the people, Big Business who moved the factories over seas. Big Business been ruining America for the last decades. And it is ruined, take a drive in rural America, one humongous ruin from shining sea to shining sea, us deplorables clinging to our guns and religion. Rural America was shafted by the coastal elite believing Big Business could take care of them, the deplorables disposable. What if the conspiracy theory the optiate epidemic was deliberate, feels like that sometimes. Some want take people out and put in buffalo instead.
I agree with you about the loss of efficiency with centralized meat processing.
I don’t necessarily agree about “Big Business” being bad and is ruining America. It is government regulations that 1) incentivized the growth of Big Business with their growth of regulation, and 2) incentivized the movement of jobs overseas because of tax policy and regulation by the Bureaucratic Hegemony.
Every Marxist state that has ever existed have had a Bureaucratic Hegemony. And it is that Bureaucratic Hegemony that always resulted in the downfall of the state. The Soviet Union and Maoists China are prime examples. America is fast approaching the point at which the Bureaucratic Hegemony is going to do the same to America. As the Bureaucratic Hegemony grows it kills the efficiency and innovation America is known for. We already have several blue states with huge Bureaucratic Hegemony’s that are nearing the edge of bankruptcy – New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and California are perfect examples. People are fleeing these states for ones with small government and low taxes. It’s where America is headed with the federal government as well.
Maybe its because of where I live? I just bought a quarter of a steer for $500. The small, local processing plant produced 225lbs of mixed steaks, roasts, and a lot of hamburger at a cost of $178. That’s an average of $3.00 per lb. That’s cheaper than hamburger in any of the local grocery chains let alone for steak and roasts.
The local rancher is a pretty fair size operation. And the small, local processing plant makes enough to support the extended family that owns and operates it. That’s the way it used to be 50-60 years ago all over the country.
When I was growing up in the 50’s this is how it was done just about everywhere. When I was 16 I worked part-time for a travelling butcher who would kill and butcher a cow or steer right on the farmers land. Whoever the meat was going to was responsible for grinding it up into hamburger if that’s they wanted as well as packaging it and freezing it.
This cheaper way to operate was eliminated by the Bureaucratic Hegemony that was greatly expanded in the 60’s. The Bureaucratic Hegemony is not actually concerned about the safety of the people, they are solely concerned in growing in power and into furthering control over the people. The ability to sue local producers has always existed as a method of controlling those producers that operated in an unsafe manner. We don’t need a government bureaucracy performing that function “for” us.
This is another disguised British attempt at protectionism along the lines of “chlorinated” chicken. And this from the same country that ignored farm health warnings about mad cow disease to”go its own way” with policy. They are very persistent in shooting themselves in the foot.
Government inspectors have been doing the bidding of the big players for years
at the expense of the public and the small independent producer. Here is a 2 part
news story that exposes the usda for what it is.—->https://mtstandard.com/news/local/feds-admit-harassing-small-butte-meat-plant-but-take-no-action/article_22db6b9c-a417-5d85-9c22-4e8424d6c9cf.html
part 2——->https://mtstandard.com/news/state-and-regional/legg-regs-take-their-toll-on-plants-throughout-montana/article_4a5a8462-c69b-5c6e-bb69-77d5635ffc6f.html
The state senators and rep promised action when this story ran but nothing to date has happened.
This is totally unacceptable. It reminds me of how the small processing plant in the small farming town I grew up in was shut down even though there had *never* been even one consumer complaint about the product it produced over twenty years. They simply couldn’t afford to keep up with all the regulations.
It’s just one more indication of the power of the Bureaucratic Hegemony. There simply isn’t any recourse. They can simply ignore even the demands of a state governor or federal senator with no accountability whatsoever.
There should be a numbered and signed survey covering the first line inspector and their immediate supervisor left at the site of every inspection. These should be collected and available for public review. It would be quite obvious who is nothing more than someone who harasses and who is an actual inspector looking out for safety.
Montana’s two senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines both have deep ties
to Big Ag and China. Daines lived in China for 8 years working
for Proctor and Gamble. Once in office he was behind this deal—->
https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/chinese-ecommerce-giant-strikes-300-million-montana-beef-deal/article_109ddb3c-90c6-562b-8748-71743ea5d561.html
It’s meat, grain and even hay is involved. All these producers are getting usda subsidies…
Then there is former us ambassador to china Max Baucus being quoted “I take my hat off to
China”.
It’s a very complex situation…Could be a connection between trade war and the virus..
It is more than unacceptable, criminal. The USDA is terrifying and intimidating us who are trying to direct market the meat we raise. I do not know how this situation evolved over the years, did not happen over night, but here we are with a broken system where Big Meat with the help of the USDA has systematically put small processing plants/sloughterhouses out of buissness.
I really don’t care what the Grauniad pushes. It has the veracity of Pravda.
Same with the BBC, and don’t go insulting Pravda like that.
If you’re wondering where the [/sarc] tag is, there isn’t one.
The only fresh meat at Costco yesterday was turkey burger. Who wants to eat that?
The beef and pork shortage was sparked by news stories of a couple processing plant problems. Then the panic set in and the lemmings stampeded. Meat is susceptible to binge buying because it freezes as well as toilet paper stacks. Meanwhile, cattle prices are depressed. (700-800 feeder steers in central Oregon are going for $150cwt. Last year they were going for $180cwt) Markets will adjust. There is no need for the president to design a new supply system. Lemmings will stampede another direction. Costco had plenty of toilet paper.
This is a story about nothing.
Red Flag!
Since when is it within the authority of the US government to “restructure” any industry?
From their website:
I like the sound of that goal.
BUT they want BIG GOVERNMENT to “restructure” the beef industry?!?!
Bye-bye “Independent” Cattle Producers!
Hello AOC/GND branded livestock!
If any of you are members, time to replace your leadership.
Wrong Say Hello to American Farmers and Ranchers Union and Join Us
http:americannationalagricultureunion.com
We are dedicated to returning Ownership and Control to the ones that know Best – American Farmers and Ranchers !!!!YOU ARE THE OWNERS YOU ARE THE CONTROLLERS LEARN HOW TO TAKE BACK WHAT HAS BEEN STOLEN FROM AMERICAN FARMERS AND RANCHERS ! Its YOUR NATION !!Sinceraly ,Jessene Roe Beecroft,Trustee and Chairman Interim of The American National Agriculture Union of The United States of America