Today, the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the White House held a press conference outlining ongoing efforts to examine competition and market concentration in the cattle and beef supply chain.
“Today’s joint press conference was unprecedented. It demonstrated how seriously the Administration is taking the ongoing problem of concentration in cattle and beef markets,” said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard.
R-CALF USA Property Rights Chair Shad Sullivan represented the organization at the briefing and delivered remarks.
“Farmers, ranchers, and American consumers have suffered for too long at the hands of consolidated power,” Sullivan said.
“Just in the last generation, we have lost more than 665,000 beef cattle operations, nearly 50 percent of producers since 1980,” Sullivan said. “This has been driven by years of mergers and acquisitions of multinational corporations and foreign meat conglomerates, creating a level of economic and political power that too often escapes oversight and accountability.”
Bullard said R-CALF USA is encouraged by the administration’s continued focus on the issue.
“We hope people in the industry will respond to the request for whistleblowers to come forward and help with the investigation,” said Bullard. “We are extremely grateful that we have an administration that is committed to reforming our markets, reversing the downward trajectory of our cattle inventories and farmers and ranchers, and ensuring that consumers are not forced to pay monopoly-controlled prices for their beef.”
Watch the full press conference: https://www.youtube.com/live/Q9SRJ_DU3uo
