US farmer pushes for one major change as imported beef debate heats up

A Missouri farmer is calling for greater transparency about where Americans’ beef comes from, while a Kentucky lawmaker is pushing Congress to give smaller, local meat processors more freedom to compete. 

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., joined FOX Business’ Cheryl Casone on “Mornings with Maria” to discuss rising beef prices, imported beef and his push to remove federal barriers for small meat processors.

“There’s only four meat processors there. Monopoly, oligarchy, if you want to call it. Some of them are foreign-owned, and they have been responsible for driving up the price of beef in the grocery store while the price of cattle remains low. You know, we’ve been talking about why people are attracted to socialism. The beef market is a good example of letting capitalism work when prices get high,” Massie said.

Massie argued that a bottleneck in meat processing is contributing to the problem and called on Congress to advance the PRIME Act, which would give states greater authority to permit the intrastate sale of meat processed at certain custom-exempt facilities without continuous federal inspection.

“If you’re a small processor, and you’re only selling within your state, you don’t need the federal government’s permission to do that transaction,” Massie said.

He also warned that bringing in additional beef from overseas could discourage American cattle producers from rebuilding their herds if they become concerned about future profitability.

Missouri farmer Andy Kapp joined FOX Business’ Grady Trimble at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, to discuss the pressures producers are facing as costs remain elevated.

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“The economics of farming right now are tight and they continue to kind of grow that way. Current market conditions are helping, but you’ve got to be able to capture that and put a little more money in our pocket,” Kapp said.

While Kapp said he prefers buying beef locally, he argued that if more imported beef enters the U.S. market, consumers should know where it came from.

“There’s give-and-take in every market. I’m not excited that we’re bringing more imported product in, and I like to get mine local… But if we’re gonna let that happen, let’s have some country of origin labeling,” Kapp said.

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Massie also called for the return of mandatory country-of-origin labeling and urged the Senate to include the PRIME Act in its version of the farm bill.

“The Senate needs to put the PRIME Act [in],” Massie said. “That’s the real solution.”

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