Much discussion is being had about beef imports and welfare of American ranchers thanks in part to a recent video from an internet and cable news personality, Tomi Lahren on The Blaze. While some cattlemen and women believe they should throw their full support behind Tomi Lahren because she’s bringing the discussion to the table, I’m not always a fan of all press being good publicity, especially when it places doubt and/or fear behind our product. Even if just a segment of a product, it can have the effect of driving customers away from purchasing any of our product.
Please, stop with the fear of foreign products and markets. This type of lobbying is no better than any other fear-fueled marketing. We need to be aware of how infighting comes across to outside audiences.
Feel free to debate the issues, but please bring more to the table than heated emotion. There are many business points that come with this discussion and I offer a few resources below to be more informed on the conversation.
Why does the US have beef imports and exports?
“Economists and industry leaders believe that trade must be a two-way street. In that regard, the U.S. beef industry is profiting when comparing imports and exports… As for the “growing tide” of imported beef some claim, the long-term trends don’t support such allegations. The U.S. will import about 3 billion pounds of beef in 2016, which would be nearly 3% less than the 3.085 billion pounds imported a decade ago.” – Beef Imports Not the Culprit, Drovers
Want to learn more about how much beef the US imports/exports and which countries that meat comes from or goes to? The US Meat Export Federation is a good place to start for statistics on US beef exports. The USDA’s Economic Research Service also provides information on Livestock and Meat International Trade Data.
Is removal of COOL to blame for lower cattle prices?
The US once had in place a law mandating the labeling of food products with the Country of Origin. The World Trade Organization deemed this as unfair according to international Free Trade Agreements, and the US removed the regulations making COOL mandatory for some products. We’re still free to label our meat with COOL voluntarily.
Should consumers have a right to know where their food comes from? Sure! Origin isn’t their only, or always primary concern. Taste, Convenience, Safety and Price often rank up there in consumer purchasing decisions.
If consumers are willing to pay for it, there are branded beef programs available. If producers want to supply beef to those customers, they should enroll in respective branded beef and added-value programs to supply those markets.
“While it is conceptually possible that the repeal of MCOOL could adversely affect U.S. cattle prices, any actual effect appears to be quite small (if there is any effect at all). The fact that cattle prices fell immediately after the repeal of MCOOL appears to be a coincidence. The falling prices seem more to do with “normal” changes in supply resulting from the cattle cycle than anything to do with MCOOL.” – Agricultural Economist, Dr. Jayson Lusk, Oklahoma State University
Should we fear beef imports from other countries as being unsafe?
We don’t need a country of origin label to tell us whether or not beef is safe. All beef, foreign and domestic, is subject to inspection standards established by the USDA and FSIS.
“Foreign countries undergo a stringent review process before they become eligible to export meat, poultry, or egg products to the United States. Countries are not required to adopt an identical inspection system, rather they must have an equivalent one. The evaluation of a country’s inspection system to determine eligibility involves two steps: a document review and an on-site audit.” It’s worth taking time to become familiar with the FSIS Import Procedures for Meat, Poultry & Egg Products
I won’t even begin to pretend this encompasses all aspects of this discussion surrounding the topics of debate. Not all solutions work for every producer or customer. However, I want to bring these links into one location after having been asked for resources in multiple conversations.
Feel free to have a debate on the topic, but at least be more informed with the information available. People can debate all day on what we think is happening in the industry, but emotion doesn’t make a business succeed.
Beef is a global commodity today, which means implications of demand and market price reach far beyond our own product. Having access to import and export markets in a manner that is respectful of our trading partners plays a crucial role in that process.
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