Press Releases
U.S. Chamber Agrees: Proposed Legislation Would Micromanage Beef Markets, Harm Consumers
WASHINGTON, DC – In Case You Missed It: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business organization, agreed with the North American Meat Institute and concluded beef market legislation before the House and Senate would “dramatically expand the federal government’s role and ultimately harm consumers,” in a post shared to their blog here.
The blog post was written by the U.S. Chamber’s Sean Heather, Senior Vice President, International Regulatory Affairs & Antitrust, and was published July 12, 2022.
The following is complete text:
Industry Leaders Strengthen Collaboration on Food Security
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 11, 2022
CONTACT: Sarah Little (443) 440-0029
WASHINGTON, DC - The North American Meat Institute's (NAMI or the Meat Institute) Executive Board voted unanimously late Friday to designate food security a non-competitive issue, strengthening industry-wide efforts to end hunger and ensure families in need have access to nutrient-dense meat.
NAMI: Prices for Cattle at Record Highs; Grassley-Fischer & Special Investigator Bills Costly
WASHINGTON, DC – With the U.S. House and Senate considering legislation to intervene in beef and cattle markets, prices for cattle are at or near record highs calling into question the need for heavy-handed government interference.
“Just last week one cattle marketing analyst described the high prices as ‘stratospheric,’” said Julie Anna Potts, President and CEO of the North American Meat Institute. “As many industry economists have said, the beef and cattle markets are continuing to behave predictably given supply and demand and do not need government mandates and intervention.
“The Grassley-Fischer bill being marked-up in the Senate Agriculture Committee this week will cost producers in the largest cattle producing region millions of dollars, and producers around the country will lose the ability to market their cattle as they choose.
NAMI: Prices for Cattle at Record Highs; Grassley-Fischer & Special Investigator Bills Costly
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 21, 2022
CONTACT: Sarah Little (443) 440-0029
WASHINGTON, DC - With the U.S. House and Senate considering legislation to intervene in beef and cattle markets, prices for cattle are at or near record highs calling into question the need for heavy-handed government interference.
North American Meat Institute Applauds Passage of Ocean Shipping Reform Act
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 13, 2022
CONTACT: Sarah Little (443) 440-0029
WASHINGTON, DC - The North American Meat Institute (Meat Institute) today applauded the House of Representatives for passing a bipartisan bill to address unreasonable ocean carrier practices undermining the competitiveness of American exporters, including the meat and poultry industry. The bill , the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, which was introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and John Thune (R-S.D.), now goes to the President to be signed into law. The Meat Institute also thanks Representatives John Garamendi (D-Calif.) and Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) for their leadership on the House version of the bill.
Meat Institute to SCOTUS: Prop 12 Unconstitutional
WASHINGTON, DC - In an Amicus Brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, The North American Meat Institute (Meat Institute) today urged the Court to reverse a lower court's judgement upholding California's Proposition 12 (Prop 12 or the law).
"A fundamental premise of our federal system is that each State is a sovereign laboratory of democracy, but only within its own borders," the Meat Institute said in its brief. "As a result, the Constitution denies California the authority to dictate the conditions under which farm animals must be housed outside California's borders.
"Nor may California erect trade barriers whose purpose and effect are to regulate commerce outside the State."
The brief was filed in support of the National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation in their case against Karen Ross, Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
North American Meat Institute: Special Investigator to Cost Taxpayer $9 Million; is Redundant
WASHINGTON, DC - The North American Meat Institute (Meat Institute) today released the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 7606, the Lower Food and Fuel Cost Act, a bill that establishes a special investigator for meat and poultry at the U.S. Department of Agriculture:
"We are disappointed the House voted to waste $9 million in taxpayer dollars on a redundant special investigator when that money would be much better spent helping Americans seeking assistance from record inflation," said Julie Anna Potts, President and CEO of the Meat Institute. "This bill simply replicates the authorities already granted to USDA and the Department of Justice to enforce the Packers and Stockyards Act and creates an expensive new government office."
North American Meat Institute: Meat and Poultry Industry is Resilient
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 26, 2022
CONTACT: Sarah Little (443) 440-0029
WASHINGTON, DC - The North American Meat Institute (Meat Institute) today released the following statement in response to a U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service report on Agricultural Competition and the first in a series of rules changes the Administration is proposing under the Packers and Stockyards Act:
Warren/Rounds Resolution Myth-Facts
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 20, 2022
CONTACT: Sarah Little (443) 440-0029
WASHINGTON, DC - The North American Meat Institute (Meat Institute) today released the following Myth-Fact resource debunking the mischaracterizations about beef and cattle markets in a resolution introduced by U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Mike Rounds (R-SD):
Myth: In the press release announcing the resolution, Senator Warren says beef companies have lowered wages for workers. This assertion is completely false.
North American Meat Institute: Special Investigator Redundant, Wasteful, Costly
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 18, 2022
CONTACT: Sarah Little (443) 440-0029
WASHINGTON, DC - The North American Meat Institute (Meat Institute) today released the following statement after the House Agriculture Committee favorably reported the Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act:
"We are disappointed in the Committee's vote to approve this bill despite opposition from the Meat Institute and the nation's largest livestock producer organizations," said Julie Anna Potts, President and CEO of the Meat Institute.
"USDA and the Department of Justice already have the authorities this bill would grant making this expansion of government bureaucracy with its required staff and offices duplicative and wasteful.
North American Meat Institute Applauds Nomination of Alexis Taylor to be USDA Undersecretary for Trade
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 16, 2022
CONTACT: Sarah Little (443) 440-0029
WASHINGTON, DC - The North American Meat Institute today applauded the nomination of Alexis Taylor to be the Undersecretary for Trade at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
House Committee Report Distorts the Record: Worker Health and Safety is First Priority in Meat and Poultry Industry
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 12, 2022
CONTACT: Sarah Little (443) 440-0029
WASHINGTON, DC - The North American Meat Institute, the nation's trade association for meat and poultry packers and processors, today said the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis' partisan report distorts the truth about the meat and poultry industry's work to protect employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The following is a statement from Julie Anna Potts, President and CEO of the North American Meat Institute:
"The Meat Institute and its member companies voluntarily provided hundreds of thousands of pages to the Committee. The report ignores the rigorous and comprehensive measures companies enacted to protect employees and support their critical infrastructure workers.
USDA Data Reveal: Cattle Sale Revenues Grew 16% in 2021
WASHINGTON, DC - Following two Congressional hearings on the beef and cattle markets largely focused on prices producers receive for their cattle, the North American Meat Institute (Meat Institute) today said the latest USDA annual report on livestock income clears up misconceptions about the state of cattle markets and shows cash receipts for the sale of cattle and calves increased 16 percent, from $63.1 billion in 2020 to $72.9 billion in 2021.
"As our members said in their testimony, prices are improving for cattle producers due to supply and demand reflecting the cyclical nature of cattle production," said Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts. "Due to the shrinking herd and sustained consumer demand, cattle prices are at seven-year-highs without federal intervention in the market."
Meat Institute to House Ag Chair Scott: Packer Margins Since 2015 Due to Increased Herd Size
WASHINGTON, DC - The North American Meat Institute (Meat Institute) today answered questions asked of meat and poultry industry companies by House Agriculture Committee Chairman David Scott during a hearing on beef and cattle markets:
"The analysis of beef and cattle market margins from 2015 are not in dispute," said Julie Anna Potts, President and CEO of the Meat Institute. "Cattle prices hit record highs in 2014 and 2015, when the overall cattle herd was at its smallest since 1952 (for context, that was during the Truman Administration). Those record prices incentivized rapid herd expansion among producers.
North American Meat Institute to Senate Ag: Cattle Prices at Seven Year Highs; Reject Costly Grassley-Fischer Bill
WASHINGTON, DC - With cattle prices at seven-year highs following record beef production in February and March as the packing sector recovers from COVID-related labor shortages and supply chain issues, the North American Meat Institute today urged members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry to reject the Grassley-Fischer bill's mandates and federal intrusion in the beef and cattle markets.
"Leading agricultural economists have determined Grassley-Fischer bill's latest draft remains costly to producers, especially producers in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas where the majority of US fed cattle are raised," said Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts. "Due to a shrinking herd and sustained consumer demand, cattle prices are at seven-year-highs without federal intervention in the market."
NAMI Calls On Governor Abbott to Cease Unnecessary Truck Inspections at U.S.-Mexico Border
CONTACT: Casey Kammerle, (202) 587 4253
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 14, 2022
The Meat Institute today is joining Democrats and Republicans in calling for Texas Governor Greg Abbott to cease the unnecessary truck inspections along the U.S.-Mexico border, which is causing massive supply chain delays and adversely affecting the American people.
Major League Baseball Fans Will Enjoy More Than 19 Million Hot Dogs and Nearly Five Million Sausages at Ballparks in 2022
CONTACT: Casey Kammerle (202) 587-4253
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 7, 2022
WASHINGTON, DC - Hot dogs and sausages are consistently among the most ordered food items at Major League Baseball (MLB) stadiums. And in 2022, the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council (NHDSC) estimates MLB fans will consume 19.1 million hot dogs and nearly five million sausages at games this season.
North American Meat Institute Recognizes Environmental and Worker Safety Award Winners
WASHINGTON, DC - The North American Meat Institute (Meat Institute) recognized hundreds of meat and poultry establishments for their positive environmental impact and worker safety achievements at the 2022 Environmental, Labor and Safety Conference in San Antonio, Texas.
"The Meat Institute congratulates these companies and their leadership to ensure the safety and health of workers and our environment," said Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts. "Their hard work and innovation will ensure the meat and poultry industry continues to employ the highest standards and latest technology to produce wholesome, safe, nutritious products that exceed customer expectations."
North American Meat Institute: Grassley-Fischer Bill is Still a Government Mandate on Producers
WASHINGTON, DC - The North American Meat Institute today said the latest version of the Grassley-Fischer government mandate bill is now more onerous and more irrelevant as market driven prices for cattle producers have steadily risen to seven-year highs.
"Supply and demand has already driven the cattle markets back into balance without the radical government interference and convoluted mandates called for in the latest draft of the Grassley-Fischer bill," said Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts. "Make no mistake, the bill still contains government mandates directing how producers market their cattle.
The new draft mandates a certain amount of cash-market sales between packers and cattle feeders, establishing "government approved pricing mechanisms" by which cattle must be bought and sold.
North American Meat Institute to House Agriculture Committee: Asked and Answered
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 21, 2022
CONTACT: Sarah Little (443) 440-0029
WASHINGTON, DC - The North American Meat Institute (Meat Institute) today issued the following statement regarding House Agriculture Committee Chairman David Scott's announcement of an upcoming hearing on the beef industry and food prices:
"The Meat Institute and its members have already made themselves available to Chairman Scott and all Members of Congress on several occasions to help improve the understanding of the beef markets," said Julie Anna Potts, President and CEO of the Meat Institute. "This hearing will be no different. The questions have been asked and answered."
