The struggles of American cattle ranchers have become prominent in U.S. political discourse this week after President Trump told reporters he was planning to greatly increase imports of Argentine beef in an attempt to lower prices for consumers and support the South American ally.

Ranchers and their advocacy groups dispute the idea that additional imports would help consumers and point to a more substantive point for reform: meat processing regulations.

According to these ranchers, current USDA regulations have limited competition, which enables price-fixing.

Joel Salatin, a Virginia farmer, previously testified before Congress: “In 1906, when Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle, seven large companies controlled half the nation’s meat processing capacity.  After a century of government intervention, four now control 85 percent.  When licenses and compliance make entering and maintaining an abattoir more burdensome to small facilities than large, concentration and centralization is not an anti-trust issue; it’s a discriminatory regulatory issue.”

In relation to price-fixing concerns, Cargill and Tyson recently agreed to pay a de minimis fine, less than 1.5% of their estimated annual profits, in response to a lawsuit over inflated beef prices.

Capitalizing on the renewed attention to these concerns, Congressman Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has been actively promoting legislation he proposed in July known as the PRIME Act.

Also known as the Processing Revival and Intrastate Meat Exemption, the PRIME Act is intended to empower American ranches to independently slaughter and sell beef directly to in-state consumers, bypassing the four dominant processing corporations.

The bill boasts 40 bipartisan cosponsors, and companion legislation has been introduced in the Senate.

The PRIME Act was not the only effort championed by members of Congress in response to the ongoing concerns raised by ranchers and consumers.

Friday, legislation was proposed by Congresswoman Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.) and Congressman Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) to reinstate mandatory country of origin labeling (MCOOL) for beef.  The legislation is intended to provide consumers greater transparency and afford buyers the option to purchase American-raised beef. 

The legislation has received swift support from the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, whose president noted, “American ranchers produce the highest-quality beef — and consumers want to purchase that premium product and support family ranches and rural communities.”

Whether one agrees or disagrees with the potential purchase of Argentine beef, these two pieces of legislation could underpin an America First approach to combating rising prices while protecting the hardworking American rancher.

Image via Pixabay.