National Farmers Union (NFU) President Rob Larew today released the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Ranchers First Initiative, announced earlier this week:
“We’re glad to see the administration focus on the US beef market, and several pieces of this plan are steps in the right direction. Better risk protection tools, expanded credit and new processing loans will help. But they aren’t enough on their own. Farmers and ranchers need a durable, long-term commitment to rebuild their herds and compete on a fairer playing field against the corporate monopolies that dominate the cattle market. We’re ready to work with the administration to get there.
“One piece is still missing: where the beef comes from. Our farmers and ranchers produce the safest, highest-quality beef in the world, but without mandatory country-of-origin labeling, meatpackers can blend imported beef into products marketed as American, leaving both consumers and those who raised that beef shortchanged.
“We urge the administration to build on this plan by backing mandatory country-of-origin labeling, and we urge Congress to move COOL legislation forward without further delay.”
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