American Meat & Ranchers and the Shutdown Continues

Agriculture in America is an absolute disaster. We don’t have an issue with agriculture, we have an issue with government over regulation. The regulators have created a situation where four big ag monopolies control the beef supply for the United States. If we want healthy American beef we need to bring back country of origin labeling, and break the hold these monopolies have over our small farmers. The problem is not the farmer. It is federal power and corporate concentration. A handful of meatpackers control the vast majority of U.S. beef processing, which puts small ranchers in a chokehold and leaves families paying more for food. USDA’s own research acknowledges that the four largest firms handle about 85 percent of steer and heifer purchases. That level of control invites abuse. It is not surprising that federal investigators are again probing the sector for potential antitrust violations involving the same dominant players: Tyson, JBS, Cargill, and National Beef. What we can do right now Rep. Thomas Massie’s PRIME Act begins to restore common sense. The bill amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act so states can allow custom slaughter facilities to process livestock for intrastate sales to households, restaurants, and retailers, subject to state law. Decentralize. Rebuild resilience. Put neighbors back in business with neighbors. Read the text for yourself. We need to restore country-of-origin labeling for beef so Americans can see where their food comes from. Congress repealed mandatory COOL for beef in 2015 after WTO pressure. A decade later there is bipartisan energy to revisit origin labels because consumers and ranchers deserve clarity. How we got here In Gibbons v. Ogden the Court read the Commerce Clause broadly for interstate trade. In Swift & Co. v. United States the “stream of commerce” theory swept local meatpacking into federal control. Then Wickard v. Filburn said even growing wheat for your own farm could be regulated if, in the aggregate, it substantially affects interstate commerce. That is how we arrived at a world where local transactions can be strangled by federal rules. Bottom line If we want healthy American beef and affordable food, we must break the cartel-like control of the Big Four, restore transparency for consumers, and return power to states and local producers. The PRIME Act is a practical step forward. COOL is common sense. And the Constitution should be read in a way that protects, not punishes, the people who feed this nation. Tune in and share this episode. Support the show at TomRenz.com