With just two weeks before the comment period deadline remaining, the National Pork Producers Council is calling on consumers to join with meat producers in opposing the proposed Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rule and they have come up with seven reasons why they should:
No. 1 It’s a solution in search of a problem.
The rule is based on the assumption that today’s livestock markets don’t function properly. In fact, current markets operate well for producers, packers and consumers alike. USDA’s own, peer-reviewed research confirms this. Neither a 1996 study on concentration in meat packing nor a 2007 meat marketing study found evidence of undue buyer or seller power in livestock markets. Meanwhile, food expenditures as a percentage of disposable income in this country are the lowest in the developed world – and have been declining steadily for decades.
No. 2 It’s a federal regulation on steroids – an unneeded bureaucratic overreach that does an end-run around Congress and caters to those who can’t compete.
GIPSA says the rule simply fulfills a mandate under the 2008 Farm Bill. In fact, it goes way beyond the specific requirements in the Farm Bill. Ironically, it adopts through regulation what a small band of disgruntled producers couldn’t achieve through legislation. Several of the provisions were either specifically rejected by Congress or are counter to federal court rulings. Why should we remake the system to suit a tiny fraction of producers who can’t compete in today’s markets?
No. 3 It will raise consumer meat prices.
Massive new regulatory requirements will translate into higher costs, which ultimately will be paid for by consumers in the form of higher retail meat prices.
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