DES MOINES, IOWA (AP) — The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) promised on Friday to spend USD500 million to encourage the construction of smaller meat processing plants located closer to farmers who raise chickens and cows with the goal of diversifying an industry now largely run by a small number of large corporations.
US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the programme in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in addition to another USD150 million to be used for existing small processing facilities with unexpected costs. The goal is to help them recover from the coronavirus pandemic and compete better in the marketplace.
Vilsack said he wants to improve profitability for livestock farmers and better serve consumers who increasingly want to know where and how farm animals are raised.
“This is a once in a generation opportunity to transform the food system so it is more resilient to shocks, delivers greater value to growers and workers, and offers consumers an affordable selection of healthy food produced and sourced locally and regionally by farmers and processors from diverse backgrounds,” he said.
Last year, the coronavirus pandemic shut down significant portions of the nation’s meat processing capacity when the virus spread quickly among workers at processing plants. The production bottleneck forced some farmers to euthanise animals when they couldn’t find facilities to process them. It prompted a discussion about the dangers of a highly consolidated meat production industry in which processing takes place in a few large-scale plants owned by a handful of the largest meat producing corporations.
Ranchers also have complained about a system that forces them to negotiate cattle sales with a few corporations that often don’t pay them enough to make a profit, again raising issues of intense consolidation and the need to increase competition in the packing industry.
Vilsack said COVID-19 exposed a food system “that was rigid, consolidated, and fragile”. He said US President Joe Biden is determined to shift the balance of power back to the people by investing in building better and fairer markets for producers and consumers.
