The U.S. Senate will soon consider new legislation designed to help farmers and give consumers a break on meat prices by breaking up meatpacking monopolies.
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., joined Southern Tier farmers and families Monday, May 4 at the Chemung County Cornell Cooperative Extension 4-H building in Horseheads to unveil his Family Grocery and Farmer Relief Act.
The legislation would break up the big meat monopolies, boost farmers upstate, and lower grocery costs for families, Schumer said.
“The meatpacking monopoly is driving up costs for New Yorkers in the Southern Tier at the grocery store and rigging the game against local farmers,” he said. “Corporate giants dominate the meat market and set prices sky-high for families, all while squeezing profits from farmers by eliminating competition, and it needs to end.”
According to analysis from the Urban Institute, New York’s 23rd Congressional District — which covers Chemung, Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, and Tioga Counties as well as parts of Schuyler, Steuben, Erie, and Niagara Counties — has experienced an increase in the average monthly cost of groceries.
In the past five years, monthly grocery prices for a family of four have increased from $870 to $1,110 each month, a nearly 30% increase, Schumer said.
A major driver of high meat prices is a food system rigged in favor of corporate monopolies, Schumer added. Four companies — Tyson Foods, JBS, Cargill, and National Beef — control 85% of the beef market, 67% of the pork market, and 60% of the chicken market, he said.
Schumer’s bill would force the biggest meatpackers to choose a line of business instead of dominating beef, pork, and chicken all at once, and aims to provide financial and technical assistance to farmers’ cooperatives and small businesses that seek to acquire, operate, or expand meatpacking plants or facilities.
It would also direct the Federal Trade Commision to go after foreign-controlled conglomerates that squeeze American producers and distort U.S. markets.
Southern Tier farmers, business owners support proposal
Schumer was joined Monday by local supporters of the proposed legislation.
“CCE Chemung is grateful for Sen. Schumer’s long-standing interest in agriculture and food affordability,” said Michell Podolec, Executive Director of Chemung County Cornell Cooperative Extension.
“I’m excited about this legislation because it will help my farm, and other local Southern Tier livestock farmers,” said Ike Mallula, owner and farmer at Red House Ranch in Van Etten. “This bill is encouraging growth in the meat packing and processing sector.”
Another proponent of Schumer’s bill is Mike Sullivan, owner of Hill Top Inn in Elmira, who said the current agriculture landscape has made keeping prices for his patrons affordable incredibly difficult.
“The cattle inventory hasn’t been this low since the 1950s, which has driven our own beef procurement costs up by over 60% in the last few years,” Sullivan said. “As a restaurant, our priority is maintaining the high-quality our guests expect without making dining out a luxury they have to cut back on.”
Greg and Lily DeForest-Campbell, owners of 1897 Beekman House Bed and Breakfast in Dundee, said the business has “struggled with profitability, as costs have increased just as quickly as we could ramp up revenue.”
“High energy and fuel bills have certainly played a part, but grocery prices have had one of the most significant factors in our struggle to stay afloat,” stated the couple. “Consolidation in the grocery and meat packing industries have clearly played a strong role in these rising costs, with an accompanying decline in quality and availability here in rural New York. New Yorkers shouldn’t have to work 16 hour days, day in and day out, just to worry about keeping grocery bags full.”
This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: How Schumer bill aims to lower meat prices for Southern Tier residents
Reporting by Jeff Murray, Elmira Star-Gazette / Elmira Star-Gazette
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