In the meat industry, challenges are the norm and not the exception. Our definition of “business as usual” likely would rattle many in other industries, but it has contributed to our collective strength. And that strength has helped to make our industry the envy of the world. Here in the United States, we produce food that is not only safe and plentiful, but more affordable—by a large margin—than meat and poultry in any other nation in the world.
Our toughness will be an asset this year as we face some challenging times. No industry is regulated like the meat and poultry industry, with continuous oversight of our plants; yet in Washington today, the government is increasingly inclined to “pile on” with even more regulations.
AMI’s Executive Committee this year voted again to make food safety AMI’s No. 1 priority. This intense focus on food safety for the last 15 years helped contribute toward a national achievement: meeting the Healthy People 2010 goal to reduce E. coli O157:H7 infections to less than 1 case per 100,000 people.
While we briefly celebrated, our Foundation maintained its focus on identifying and funding research to reduce and ultimately eliminate pathogens. Unfortunately, as we look to science to solve problems, USDA appears poised to take actions on non-O157 STECs. On the table is a possible classification of six additional strains as adulterants in raw ground beef. Although some trial attorneys clamor for the move, we are actively communicating to USDA the steps the department should take that will make a difference in a way that bureaucratic bans cannot.
Specifically, this summer, AMI sent an eight-page letter to USDA communicating eight steps that should be taken to address the challenges posed by these pathogens, including conducting a risk assessment and a baseline survey and developing new interventions. We also pointed out that existing interventions for E. coli O157:H7 are effective against all strains of E. coli. Trying to achieve through bureaucratic measures what science simply will not permit consumes resources that would be better spent on other food-safety measures.
New regulations are in the works in other arenas as well. One of the most significant issues on the horizon is the USDA Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Act (GIPSA) proposal to change how livestock and poultry are marketed in the U.S. The far-reaching proposal came in response to very specific language in the 2008 Farm Bill, but the proposal itself is like a regulatory fire-hose that will shake the industry to its core if finalized.
In the last two decades our industry has enjoyed enormous success by shifting away from a commodity approach to producing meat and instead, increasingly offering branded products. But brands cannot be built on unpredictable and inconsistent supplies. That’s why contracts and marketing agreements between packers and producers have become commonplace. They give the packer what he needs and offer the producer a predictable, steady source of income.
The GIPSA proposal, however, will lower the standard of evidence required for a producer to sue a packer if he believes that a competing producer who engaged in a contract or marketing agreement received an “undue preference.” This change will increase the risk associated with using marketing agreements and force packers to abandon such agreements and return to the spot market, where quality will suffer, or the change will lead to greater vertical integration. Making marketing agreements risky will help no one—with the possible exception of trial lawyers, who likely are drooling over the possibility of a final rule with the current language intact.
The rule’s comment deadline has been extended until November 22. AMI will submit detailed comments, but our efforts are only a small part of what is needed. Packers and producers across the country need to tell USDA in personal terms what effect this rule will have on their companies and their brands. AMI will soon provide an online option where industry members can convey in a compelling and personal way what impact this proposal will have on them, if finalized.
An election is on the horizon, and the ground beneath us in Washington and throughout the nation will no doubt shift.
But now is the time for our industry to stand firm with one another and to speak up to our lawmakers and our regulators about sweeping new policies. Meat industry business leaders need to remember that no one is more of an expert about your business than you are. Don’t be shy about sharing your views and your recommendations, because this is a year where we must hang together—and hang tough.