$1B from American Rescue PLan to aid indie meat processing

[butters]

certain conglomerates driving up their own profits and, as a direct result, inflation:

The White House has previously pointed to a small number of conglomerates for driving up meat and poultry prices, which have been a major contributor to broader inflation in recent months.

“When dominant middlemen control so much of the supply chain, they can increase their own profits at the expense of both farmers - who make less - and consumers - who pay more,” the White House said in a fact sheet announcing its action plan on Monday. “Most farmers now have little or no choice of buyer for their product and little leverage to negotiate, causing their share of every dollar spent on food to decline.”

The Biden administration is dedicating $1 billion from the American Rescue Plan, a bill signed into law last year, specifically for the purpose of expanding independent meat processing capacity.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mar...eases-in-meat-prices/ar-AASopG8?ocid=msedgntp

 

[jaF0]

Who, in a couple of years will be acquired by the conglomerates.

Those are the laws that need to be changed.

 

[butters]

Biden is building off a July executive order that directed the Agriculture Department to more aggressively look at possible violations of the 1921 Packers and Stockyards Act, which was designed to ensure fair competition and protect consumers. Meat prices have climbed 16% from a year ago, with beef prices up 20.9%.

The administration is targeting meat processing plants, which can shape the prices paid to farmers and charged to consumers. The White House issued a fact sheet saying that the top four companies control 85% of the beef market. In poultry, the biggest four processing firms control 54% of the market. And for pork, the figure is 70% for the four biggest firms.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/poli...s-to-cut-meat-prices/ar-AASnyxN?ocid=msedgntp

 

[pecksniff]

Who, in a couple of years will be acquired by the conglomerates.

Those are the laws that need to be changed.

I have only ever encountered even one plausible hypothetical scenario to that effect: Pacific Edge, a more-or-less utopian novel by Kim Stanley Robinson. This is set in a future where government imposes a limit to the size of any business enterprise -- the determining factor being, if the company is too big for all people in it to know each other personally, then it is too big, and needs breaking up.

 

[JohnnySavage]

Buy local.

All my beef, goat, lamb and pork comes from less than 5 miles from where I cook it.

The deer, squirrel and rabbit have a bit broader range.

 

[jaF0]

I have only ever encountered even one plausible hypothetical scenario to that effect:

Look up the AT&T Divestiture. Also, the FTC pursues anti-monopoly actions when they feel it may be warranted and have actively blocked a number of acquisitions.

 

[butters]

Buy local.

All my beef, goat, lamb and pork comes from less than 5 miles from where I cook it.

The deer, squirrel and rabbit have a bit broader range.

which is a whole lot easier for some of us than others

 

[pecksniff]

which is a whole lot easier for some of us than others

Oh, you could eat only local game if you live in Manhattan, provided you have a flexible definition of "game."

 

[JohnnySavage]

The city people are very good at solving problems and I'm sure they will solve their food problem with the exact same alacrity as they've solved their crime, education, infrastructure, housing and political problems.

 

[Champakian]

Chipbutty is completely clueless economically and politically.


Most of that money is going to the Big Four.
Biden is so confused that he doesn't know it
and Chippy believes everything his handlers
doublespeak to her on his behalf...

She should go back to England.


MOOooo...

 

[Champakian]

which is a whole lot easier for some of us than others

Queen Chipbutty proclaims: Let Dem eat squab and rat!

 

[Champakian]

The (D) plan that actually lowers meat prices:

https://reason.com/2022/01/02/anima...-to-bite-california-and-massachusetts-voters/



If you cannot buy it, demand drops and people fight each other over Soylent Rainbow...

 

[JohnnySavage]

I think Soylent Green took place in 2022. Didn't it?

 

[Champakian]

I think Soylent Green took place in 2022. Didn't it?

Are you from the future?

Did you mean to say 'takes' place?

​

 

[JohnnySavage]

2022 is the current year and some of it is already past tense.

Did you miss the new year?

 

[Champakian]

Missed the point.

What year was Soylent Red and Yellow introduced?

 

[LukSkyFokker]

Chipbutty is completely clueless economically and politically.


Most of that money is going to the Big Four.
Biden is so confused that he doesn't know it
and Chippy believes everything his handlers
doublespeak to her on his behalf...

She should go back to England.

Queen Chipbutty proclaims: Let Dem eat squab and rat!

You're more butthurt than a tween girl getting dumped on TikTok. Get the fuck over it, loser. She fucked your life to hell and you have never recovered.

 

[butters]

You're more butthurt than a tween girl getting dumped on TikTok. Get the fuck over it, loser. She fucked your life to hell and you have never recovered.

what both he and, clearly, johnny.s seem to entirely ignore is that while U.S cities depend on the U.S countryside for (some) food (there are imports, yanno), the countryside largely depends on the money cities make and send their way in the form of purchasing, grants, medicaid, social security blah blah blah. Interdependence.


p.s

our situationally-outraged liar-in-chief, a.j, did all the damage to himself: his own words, his own attitude. put them out there for all to see, and boy did they see.

 

[butters]

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented, “AFBF appreciates the Biden administration’s continued work to ensure a fair and competitive meat processing system. We must get to the bottom of why farmers and ranchers continue to receive low payments while families across America endure rising meat prices.

“Farmers and ranchers want a fair shake. The joint initiative between USDA and the Department of Justice to create an online portal to report competition law violations, and efforts to strengthen the Packers & Stockyards Act, will go a long way to ensuring fairness in the industry. More accurately defining ‘Product of the USA’ labeling will also allow families to make more well-informed decisions at the grocery store.

“We are encouraged by the administration’s willingness to work with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to improve price discovery in the cattle markets. We urge bipartisanship throughout this process. Securing fair prices for farmers and for families is a goal that transcends party lines.”

unsurprisingly, the farmers seem quite pleased with the help, resistance coming from the processing/packaging side of things as expected.
https://www.953mnc.com/2022/01/03/w...armer-profits-increased-consumer-food-prices/

 

[Sean Renaud]

1B is chump change we need to kinda keep our eye on the ball.

 

[butters]

1B is chump change we need to kinda keep our eye on the ball.

it's a start

and the programmes it is aimed at will make a difference for those smaller producers