To Revive Local Meat Processing

apcowboy

Founder of The Meat Cutter's Club

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Posts: 5562

Date: Aug 8, 2015

To Revive Local Meat Processing	Permalink

the PRIME Act, Bill to Revive Local Meat Processing PRIME Act Would Steer Meat Processing in the Right Direction, A great new bi-partisan House bill would wrest control over intrastate meat slaughter from the USDA. “The local slaughterhouse infrastructure around the country has been decimated in the last 48 years. Passage of the PRIME Act will bring back the community abattoir and lead to a more prosperous local food system.” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) introduced a bill that would dramatically re-shape the way many animals are slaughtered for food in this country. The PRIME Act, which has several co-sponsors, including Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Reps. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Scott Garrett (R-N.J.), Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), and Jared Polis (D-Colo.), would give states the option of setting their own rules for processing meat that’s sold inside state borders. That’s a power Congress took from the states and handed to the USDA in 1967. This is an issue that interests—and concerns—me greatly. I moderated a panel on reducing legal barriers to entry for livestock farmers and ranchers at Harvard Law School last year. As I also wrote here last year, in the wake of a food-safety scandal that forced the USDA to (rightly) close a California slaughterhouse, local slaughter options are few and far between for many farmers around the country. The lack of USDA-approved processing plants forces farmers and ranchers of all sizes and types to funnel their cattle to one of a limited number of typically far-off USDA slaughterhouses. That regulatory stranglehold on meat processing has real-world consequences, because only meat processed at these USDA-approved slaughterhouses may be sold commercially in the United States. What’s more, when a food-safety violation is found at one of these facilities, the USDA can order meat from all sources—regardless of its safety—to be destroyed. That was the case in the California example I discussed in my column. As I also noted, a growing demand across the country for increased food choices, such as local, grass-fed beef, is being suppressed by the dearth of USDA-approved slaughterhouses. While it’s true that meat currently may be processed at “custom” facilities that are not certified by the USDA, the sale of such meat is severely restricted. So just what is the PRIME Act, and why do we need it? As Rep. Massie told me by phone this week, the bill is intended “to enable local farmers to sell their products to local consumers without all of the red tape and expense [posed by] the federal government.” In place of that red tape, the simply worded, three-page PRIME Act would let states set their own standards. Rep. Massie, who with his family raises cattle on his Kentucky farm, knows the impact of USDA processing rules better than most. “I’m a beef farmer myself,” he tells me, “and when I take my animals to be processed, I drive past a custom facility three miles from my house and travel three hours to a USDA facility.” This is common. In talking with farmers and ranchers, it’s a story I hear time and again. As Rep. Massie explains, the facility certification process is expensive and challenging. Something as trivial as the diameter of a drainpipe in a concrete floor can make or break a certification application. “The current custom-slaughter system doesn’t help farmers to succeed,” Rep. Massie says. As he tells me, the current system that allows farmers to sell beef that wasn’t processed at a USDA-certified facilities also creates several senseless hurdles for the small farmer and his buyers. First, Rep. Massie notes, the rules force farmers to sell off ownership shares in a live cow, rather than, say, selling the steaks and roasts from the cow. Typically, that means a consumer must buy a share of at least 100 pounds, even if they just want to buy a pound of hamburger. It also means consumers can’t choose to buy, for example, only steaks or only roasts. They’re bound to buy steaks and roasts, liver and ground beef. And they almost certainly are forced to buy the meat frozen, rather than fresh, as—speaking from experience—it’s near impossible to eat 100 pounds of fresh meat in a sitting. This, Rep. Massie tells me, is “how the rules keep consumers from buying what they want from farmers.” Not surprisingly, the PRIME Act is resonating with farmers and advocates across the country. One person who sees the possibilities of the PRIME Act is Wyoming State Rep. Tyler Lindholm (R). I interviewed Rep. Lindholm earlier this year after he helped secure passage of Wyoming’s groundbreaking Food Freedom Act, which deregulated many food transactions on farms in the state, save those pertaining to most meat, as that still falls under the USDA’s authority. “Needless to say, there's quite a few of us in Wyoming that will be watching this bill closely and doing as much as we can to ensure its passage,” Rep. Lindholm told me by email this week. “Not only will this legislation fill in the gaps for Wyoming's Food Freedom Act,” he says, referring to the continuing involvement of the USDA in intrastate meat processing, “but it will open the door to opportunities for [a]griculture producers that they haven't had in decades.” “Congress gave USDA jurisdiction over intrastate meat commerce in 1967 and the results have been a disaster,” says Pete Kennedy of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, in an email to me this week. “The local slaughterhouse infrastructure around the country has been decimated in the last 48 years. Passage of the PRIME Act will bring back the community abattoir and lead to a more prosperous local food system.” The PRIME Act isn’t the first time Reps. Massie and Pingree have teamed up on a great food bill. In March 2014, the pair co-sponsored a pair of bills that would have legalized many sales of raw milk that are currently banned. Those bills, which I wrote about at the time, were “intended ‘to improve consumer food choices and to protect local farmers from federal interference.’” Neither bill passed, but their introduction established an important precedent for crafting bi-partisan food freedom legislation, a precedent that is reflected in the PRIME Act. Given the visibility of this new bill, its bi-partisan appeal, and its growing number of co-sponsors, I’m optimistic the PRIME Act might just become law. Its passage would be an enormous victory for small farmers and consumers around the country. __________________ Leon Wildberger Executive Director

Youngblood

Veteran Member

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Posts: 67

Date: Aug 13, 2015

RE: To Revive Local Meat Processing	Permalink

Sounds like a good deal, would make more butchering jobs it seem __________________

Youngblood

Veteran Member

Status: Offline

Posts: 67

Date: Aug 13, 2015

RE: To Revive Local Meat Processing	Permalink

My letter is off to Richard Shelby United States Senator, Alabama __________________

thesouthern_bell

Veteran Member

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Posts: 174

Date: Aug 13, 2015

RE: To Revive Local Meat Processing	Permalink

Ms. Senator has received my e-mail and phone call __________________

apcowboy

Founder of The Meat Cutter's Club

Status: Offline

Posts: 5562

Date: Aug 13, 2015

To Revive Local Meat Processing

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well mine says he will vote for it

COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Chairman, Subcommittee on Legislative Branch Subcommittee on Defense Subcommittee on Financial Services and general government		WASHINGTON OFFICE: 2442 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515-1014 (202) 225-5211 DISTRICT OFFICES: 702 S. Thornton Avenue Dalton, GA 30720 (706) 226-5320 600 East First Street, Suite 301 Rome, GA 30161 (706) 290-1776 http://tomgraves.house.gov
August 13, 2015
Mr. Leon Wildberger 1429 Dawnville Rd NE Dalton, GA 30721-6810 Dear Mr. Wildberger, Thank you for contacting me with your thoughts regarding H.R. 3187, the Processing Revival and Intrastate Meat Exemption (PRIME) Act. It is good to hear from you. As you may know, Representative Thomas Massie introduced H.R. 3187, the PRIME Act, on July 23, 2015. This legislation would amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act to exempt from inspection the slaughter of animals and the preparation of carcasses conducted at a custom slaughter facility. H.R. 3187 was referred to the House Committee on Agriculture, You may also know, the Federal Meat Inspection Act of 1905 requires the USDA to inspect all cattle, sheep, swine, goats and equines slaughtered and processed into products for human consumption. Please be assured, should H.R.3187 come before me for a vote I will be certain to cast my vote for it. Please continue to contact me with your ideas and issues of concern through my website at: http://tomgraves.house.gov or by calling one of my three offices located in Dalton, Rome, and Washington, D.C. I also continually update my social media platforms on Twitter: https://twitter.com/reptomgraves and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reptomgraves and encourage you to visit both. If you would like to receive periodic email updates from me, please sign-up to receive my newsletter by visiting this website: http://tomgraves.house.gov/contact/signup.htm. Again, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me on this important matter. Your input helps me to better serve you in the U.S. House of Representatives. If I can be of any further service, please let me know.

__________________

Leon Wildberger

Executive Director

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Guru

Status: Offline

Posts: 1713

Date: Aug 13, 2015

To Revive Local Meat Processing	Permalink

It sounds like a good bill that would benefit small businesses and local farmers. My State Representative and Senator have been contacted. -- Edited by fdarn on Thursday 13th of August 2015 06:37:23 PM __________________

apcowboy

Founder of The Meat Cutter's Club

Status: Offline

Posts: 5562

Date: Aug 14, 2015

RE: To Revive Local Meat Processing	Permalink

THANKS everyone that has sent a e-mail, this a start lets keep sending them __________________ Leon Wildberger Executive Director

Coalcracker

Moderator

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Posts: 586

Date: Aug 14, 2015

RE: To Revive Local Meat Processing	Permalink

Hi Leon, I just sent emails to Lindsey Graham our U.S. senator in S.C. but then I wanted to send a message to one of our many congressman. I sent another to Congressman Jeff Duncan. Then I thought why not find out what congressman are on the Agriculture Committees and sub committees so here are a few. Rep. Pompeo, Mike [R-KS-4]; Rep. Westerman, Bruce [R-AR-4]; Rep. Scott, David [D-GA-13; Rep. Thompson, Glenn [R-PA-5]; Rep. Conaway, K. Michael [R-TX-11. All these Congressman have sponsored Agricultural bills. __________________ Phil ( coalcracker ) Verduce Resourse Page Manager

Master_Meat_Sawman

Veteran Member

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Posts: 241

Date: Aug 15, 2015

RE: To Revive Local Meat Processing	Permalink

Cowboy, glad you posted this, I think this bill should be one every meat cutter should get behind, would open our trade back up some. you would need more cutters to fill the local orders. I will mail mine today __________________

the PRIME Act, Bill to Revive Local Meat Processing