Turkey farmers facing squeeze after Trump kills agriculture rules
Source: Politico
A USDA decision is giving significant power to the multibillion-dollar meat industry, potentially crushing the smaller turkey farmers.
By CHRISTINE HAUGHNEY 11/22/2017 05:04 AM EST
Ike Horst raises 22,000 turkeys a year on his farm in the rolling hills of south-central Pennsylvania, selling them to a processing company that was providing him with enough of a nest egg that he hoped he could sell the farm and retire.
But a Trump administration decision to block proposed agriculture regulations may blow up those plans, preserving the multibillion-dollar meat industrys power over the smaller turkey farmers whose birds will grace the tables in millions of American homes this Thanksgiving. Horst is one of the independent businessmen caught up in the Trump administrations governmentwide deregulation frenzy.
Obama-era rules that had yet to take effect would have given smaller farmers more power to set the terms of their deals with massive meat companies, empowering the growers to sue and better define abusive practices by processors and distributors under federal law. Trumps Agriculture Department killed two of the proposed rules, one of which would have taken effect in October.
Major agribusinesses like Cargill and Butterball fought the rules, saying they would lead to endless litigation between farmers and global food companies.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/22/turkey-farmers-trump-agriculture-rules-256169
Brainstormy
(2,381 posts)and there's a lot to worry about these days. But Big Food may actually be one of our greatest threats. We're rapidly approaching the point where a handful of conglomerates will control the global food supply. Cargill is one of them.
pbmus
(12,422 posts)If it is not yourself growing or raising your own food.
dalton99a
(81,570 posts)TexasBushwhacker
(20,214 posts)Everyone bitches about regulations, except the ones that protect them personally.
SharonAnn
(13,778 posts)trusty elf
(7,401 posts)justhanginon
(3,290 posts)underpants
(182,877 posts)NCjack
(10,279 posts)"Get Big or Get Out." (1971-76 Sec. of Ag. Earl Butz, under Nixon and Ford)
And, yes there is a difference between DEM and GOP secretaries of ag.
keithbvadu2
(36,906 posts)So much for Trump's beloved small farmer, small businessman