{"id":2025641,"date":"2023-09-08T10:31:01","date_gmt":"2023-09-08T14:31:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-depth-ranchers-independence-fades-as-corporations-expand-control-of-food-supply\/"},"modified":"2023-09-08T10:46:01","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T14:46:01","slug":"in-depth-ranchers-independence-fades-as-corporations-expand-control-of-food-supply","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-depth-ranchers-independence-fades-as-corporations-expand-control-of-food-supply\/","title":{"rendered":"Ranchers lose independence as corporations dominate food supply."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fin-depth-ranchers-independence-fades-as-corporations-expand-control-of-food-supply%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2025641&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<p>Kansas \u200dcattle rancher Kyle Hemmert \u2064watches\u2062 the decline of \u2062cattle farmers in Ireland and the\u2062 Netherlands and\u200d sees the future for\u200d himself and his fellow \u200dranchers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s happening in the beef industry is the same\u200b thing that\u2019s happened in the sheep industry,\u201d Mr. Hemmert told The Epoch Times. \u201cAmerica peaked at 51 million sheep; \u200ctoday, we have less than 5 million.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m seeing \u200cempty pastures in my area,\u201d he\u2064 said. \u201cPeople \u2064said \u2018to hell with it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Related Stories<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n        <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/article\/consumers-bear-the-brunt-of-net-zero-agenda-critics-say-5481785\">Consumers Bear the Brunt of Net Zero Agenda, Critics Say<\/a><br \/>\n        <span>8\/29\/2023<\/span>\n      <\/li>\n<li>\n        <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/behind-the-beef-smear-is-eating-less-meat-really-about-saving-the-planet-5463603\">Behind the Beef Smear:\u200c Is Eating \u200cLess Meat Really About Saving the Planet?<\/a><br \/>\n        <span>8\/28\/2023<\/span>\n      <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Bill Bullard, CEO of R-CALF USA,\u2062 spoke to The Epoch Times about the issue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe cattle industry is the last\u2063 frontier;\u200d it\u2019s the last segment of the \u200clivestock\u200d industry that still \u2062has a sufficient level of competition to sustain independent producers,\u201d\u200d Mr. Bullard said.<\/p>\n<p>With about \u20645,000\u200d members, R-CALF represents independent cattle\u200c ranchers and\u200c is fighting to preserve their independence. \u2062But they are facing off against a group \u200cof only four major buyers for their cows, new federal \u2062initiatives that favor the large\u2063 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-administration-unveils-1-billion-plan-to-address-inflation-in-meat-and-poultry-industry\/\" title=\"Biden Administration Unveils  Billion Plan To Address Inflation In Meat and Poultry Industry\">packing companies<\/a>,\u200d and climate \u200bactivism\u200b that claims cows emit too \u200bmany greenhouse gasses and must \u200dhave their numbers reduced.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode post-related-videos\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe model that they have applied, first to the poultry industry and now to \u2063the hog industry, has been extremely \u2064successful for the multinational meat packers that \u2062want \u200bto vertically integrate the entire \u2062industry,\u201d Mr. Bullard\u200c said, \u201cand \u200bthat\u200b vertical integration kills competition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The cash markets that once existed \u2064between buyers and\u2063 sellers in these industries\u200b are\u2064 largely \u200dgone, with\u200b farmers\u200c becoming \u2062either\u200b employees or working \u2063under \u2064contract to packing companies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow, if you want to produce hogs, you do so by invitation\u2063 from an integrator\u2063 because you have a contract to produce hogs,\u201d Mr.\u2062 Bullard said. \u201cThey\u2019re applying \u2062that, unfortunately, very successful model to the cattle industry right\u200b now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Harriet\u200c Hageman\u200b (R-Wyo.) has also commented on the issue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s\u2064 the example \u200dof vertical \u200dintegration \u200cthat\u2019s already happened in large part with our\u2064 pork producers and \u200cour poultry producers,\u201d \u200cMs.\u2064 Hageman told The Epoch Times. \u201cAnd they want to do exactly the \u200bsame thing with our ranches. They want to basically make \u200cour\u2063 ranchers\u200d nothing\u200b but paid employees, and the \u2063ranches and the real\u2062 property would \u2063be owned by the big\u2063 packers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>South Dakota\u200c rancher \u2062Brett Kenzy told The Epoch Times that the\u200c American rancher is a remnant \u2063of a &#8220;self-reliant, independent, entrepreneurial, hardworking, religious, multigenerational person that used to \u2063be very commonplace.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>Ranchers now worry\u200c that having so much of the country\u2019s \u200dmeat production under \u200cthe control of a handful of corporations will \u2062drive many \u200cfarmers out of business and leave Americans at the mercy \u2062of a few \u200bglobal\u2063 players.<\/p>\n<h2>The Miracle of Cows<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cThe miracle of the cow \u2062is the fact that she has four chambers in her stomach, and she can\u200d eat grass, which \u2064is carbohydrate,\u200d and create \u2063protein,\u201d Mr. Kenzy said.\u2064 \u201cThey\u2019re\u2064 the only animal on earth that can do it that efficiently.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cBeef is the\u2063 most\u2064 well-balanced source\u2063 for human beings in terms \u2062of vitamins, \u200cminerals and protein,\u201d he\u200c said, \u201cbut \u200dthat four-chambered stomach, as they\u2019re running it through, they \u2062belch \u200dmethane.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>These methane emissions have put cows directly in the crosshairs of \u200cclimate activists. Many of the corporations that \u2063control food markets have joined net-zero clubs like Climate\u200b Action 100+, which pledge to slash \u200d<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">greenhouse gas emissions<\/a> for themselves and their suppliers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRather than just killing off the cattle all at once,\u200d this is\u2062 going to be a controlled implosion \u200cof\u2063 the beef industry,\u201d Mr. Kenzy\u200b said. \u201cI\u200b think the\u200d end \u2062goal is ultimately controlling the food supply.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cattle ranchers \u200d\u201cwent \u200dthrough a period\u2063 from 2015 to 2021 \u2064where they could\u2064 not recover their cost \u200bof production,\u201d Mr.\u200d Bullard said. \u201cWe\u2019ve\u200d seen segments \u2064of our industry literally drop like\u2064 flies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust four decades ago,\u200d we had about\u2062 1.3 million independent cattle farmers and ranchers that\u2063 were maintaining mother cow herds and raising calves each year,\u201d \u2062Mr. Bullard said. \u201cDue to economic costs, price squeezes, a lack of \u2064profitability, and a lack of\u2062 competition [among buyers], we wiped out 43 percent of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>American households have experienced this phenomenon in\u2063 the form of escalating prices for\u200d beef. The average price\u2062 that\u2064 American consumers <a href=\"https:\/\/fred.stlouisfed.org\/series\/APU0000703112\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">paid for beef<\/a> increased from $3.89 per pound\u200b in January 2020 \u2064to $5.10 per pound as of\u200d July\u2062 2023, according to the Federal Reserve.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe fact that cattle producers\u200d were receiving\u2063 seriously depressed prices for the cattle, at the \u2062same time that consumers were \u200cpaying super inflated \u2063prices \u200cfor beef in \u2064the \u200bgrocery store, that prompted us\u2064 to file a national class\u200b action suit\u200d against the largest four packers that control 85 \u2064percent of the fed\u2062 cattle market,\u201d\u2063 Mr. Bullard said.<\/p>\n<p>It is only recently that \u2062these price increases made their way through to the \u200cranchers that \u2062remained in business.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis year\u200c is going to be \u200dprofitable \u2063for the cow-calf\u200b man, but for \u200cthe last six, seven years there has not been \u200bprofit,\u201d\u200d Mr. Hemmert said. \u201cWhen there\u2019s not\u200b profit, it signals to the industry to \u2064cut back, quit producing, and there\u2019s been a lot of cow herds that have been sold.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>\u201cIt took \u200ddecimation of the cow-calf industry to make us profitable again,\u201d he said. \u200d\u201cThat\u2019s kind of sad, right?\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>The Problem With Cows<\/h2>\n<p>The United Nations Food \u200band Agricultural\u200d Organization\u200c asserts that emissions from livestock \u2064farms are about seven gigatons\u2064 of carbon dioxide\u200d per year, or about \u206215 percent of all human-induced greenhouse\u2064 gas emissions\u200b (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fao.org\/3\/i3437e\/i3437e.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cBeef and cattle\u200d milk production account for the \u200dmajority of emissions, respectively contributing 41 \u200band 20 percent of the sector\u2019s\u200d emissions,\u201d the U.N. states.<\/p>\n<p>The solution proposed by climate activists is to reduce the production of beef, with a\u200b target\u200b of\u2063 30 \u200dpercent reduction in\u200b cattle herds. Countries like\u2062 Ireland and the Netherlands have already attempted to introduce laws\u200c and regulations to cut herds.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency released a 13-year, 25-billion-euro plan \u200bin December\u200b 2021 to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dairyherd.com\/news\/business\/dutch-government-imposes-ag-cutbacks-farmers-revolt#:~:text=The%20plan%20in%20its%20current,land%20itself%20to%20the%20state.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reduce \u200bemissions\u200d by 50 percent<\/a> by 2030. The plan would cut the country\u2019s cattle, pig, and chicken population by\u2064 30 percent through voluntary buy-outs or, if necessary, expropriations\u2064 by the state of \u2062about 3,000 farms.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>In May, the European Union\u200d green-lit a Dutch plan to spend $1.6 billion to purchase or seize Dutch farmers\u2019 land. This policy led to \u200dmass farmer protests under slogans like \u201cNo Farmers, No Food.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the United States, however, targets to reduce livestock emissions are being set not \u200cby \u200bgovernment \u200dfiat \u200dbut\u2064 by a handful of corporate food \u2064producers.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>In June 2021, Tyson Foods announced that it \u2063was \u200c\u201cthe first U.S.-based\u200b protein company to have an\u200c emissions reduction target approved by the <a href=\"https:\/\/sciencebasedtargets.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Science Based Targets initiative<\/a> \u200d (SBTi).\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Tyson is one of the four dominant packing companies in the\u200d beef industry; the\u2063 other three are Minnesota-based Cargill, \u2064and Brazilian-based JBS Foods and\u200d Marfrig. Together these four companies\u2063 process \u200cabout 85 percent of all beef\u200c in\u200b the United States.<\/p>\n<p>And it is \u2064not just the \u2064packing oligopoly that \u200dis expanding its control\u2062 into the ranching industry. A\u2063 similar consolidation and \u2063vertical integration is \u200bhappening within global grocery chains as \u200bwell.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>\u201cWalmart has gone out \u2063and bought enormous ranches,\u201d Ms. Hageman\u2063 said. \u201cThey\u2019re \u2064raising their own cattle, they\u2019re processing it,\u200d and they\u2019re \u200cselling it in their stores.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Rich Countries Must Cut Meat Consumption\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>The North \u2063American Meat Institute, whose <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bill-and-melinda-gates-foundation-behind-anti-racist-math-push\/\" title=\"Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Behind \u2018Anti-Racist\u2019 Math Push\">members include<\/a> meat packing companies that account for more than 95 percent of America\u2019s \u2063meat and\u2063 poultry products, launched \u2062its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.asas.org\/taking-stock\/blog-post\/taking-stock\/2023\/06\/29\/interpretive-summary-nami-launches-the-protein-pact-academic-advisory-council\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Protein PACT Academic Advisory Council<\/a> \u200d in June, which works\u200d with\u200d its members \u201cin setting greenhouse gas reduction \u2064targets to be\u2063 approved by the Science Based Targets initiative.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The SBTi, \u2063in partnership\u2063 with organizations like the United Nations Global Compact \u2062and \u2064the World Wildlife Fund,\u200d pledges to \u201clead the way to a\u200b zero-carbon economy, \u200bboost innovation and drive sustainable\u200c growth by\u2062 setting \u2063ambitious, science-based emissions reduction targets.\u201d Calling itself the \u201cglobal body enabling businesses to\u200b set emissions reduction targets in line with science,\u201d the SBTi states\u200c that \u200b\u201ccompanies \u2062in the forest, land and\u200c agriculture sectors will \u2063reduce at \u200bleast 72% of\u200b emissions by no\u2063 later than 2050.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tyson\u2063 foods \u200dstated in its \u200b2021 Sustainability Report that \u2063it had a \u201cScience Based Target&#8221;\u2062 of achieving a 30 \u2063percent reduction\u200d in greenhouse gas emissions by\u2064 2030, and that addressing\u2063 beef production would be key.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>Despite the fact\u2063 that greenhouse \u200bhas emissions are a global phenomenon, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-depth-ranchers-independence-fades-as-corporations-expand-control-of-food-supply\/\" title=\"Ranchers lose independence as corporations dominate food supply.\">emissions reduction plans\u2062 typically\u2064 focus<\/a> on western countries. A 2022 \u200dreport by <a href=\"https:\/\/earth.org\/meat-consumption-and-climate-change\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Earth.org<\/a> stated \u2064that in order to meet climate-change targets,\u200b \u201crich countries must cut meat consumption \u2063by\u200b at least\u2062 75%.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>A 2018 study published in \u2063Nature (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-018-0594-0.epdf?sharing_token=6VSun3v-hFgezzxv1CL_udRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0M2ZckU8PFAjFp2beHrcOXhMGtzE8nzrDqubMx9ONW9ULSbbQ_WUw8pvU9o1FaesDHuYCOp6yVfe9y7yjWiIxY6jRO_2xMRMfIL545VUVuFGyXnkckEe-bZTa0dL-hBJrvRITfRrhrM7AYDQkg7TlURNJrvSWqGi9Or0SPWkE_uyp0-iQpUicEVL0pmYFxn9ZE%3D&#038;tracking_referrer=www.theguardian.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>) \u200dclaimed that\u2063 beef consumption in western countries\u200d would need to decrease by 90\u2063 percent.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>As \u2062cows become a prime target for climate activists, it is perhaps not coincidental that cattle ranchers\u200d are also the last livestock farmers who have not \u200calready \u200dbeen absorbed \u200cby global food conglomerates.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCattle is the single\u200c largest segment of American agriculture; it sets itself \u200capart from the hog and poultry industries,\u201d \u2063Mr. \u2064Bullard said. \u201cThe\u200d hog and\u200d poultry industry are primarily\u2062 controlled by multinational meatpacking conglomerates, and they have the ability\u200d to defend their interests, unlike \u2063the disaggregated independent family \u200dfarmers and \u200branchers scattered across \u200cthe country.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>\u201cThey simply \u200ddon\u2019t \u2062have the\u2063 resources \u2062to fight back,\u201d \u200dhe said. \u201cWhat the climate change\u2063 folks\u200d have done is\u2064 pick the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sean-penn-writes-angry-letter-blasting-staff-who-complained-about-vaccine-distribution-site-working-conditions\/\" title=\"Sean Penn Writes Angry Letter Blasting Staff Who Complained About Vaccine Distribution Site Working Conditions\">low-hanging fruit<\/a>, and\u200c that\u2019s the\u2062 U.S. cattle industry.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Global\u2063 Roundtable for Sustainable Beef<\/h2>\n<p>Like with other segments of the world\u2019s economy, the environmental social and governance (ESG) \u2064movement has made its way into \u2062food \u2062production \u200bas \u200bwell. One of the key organizations in \u2062this effort \u2062is the \u2062Global Roundtable for\u2062 Sustainable Beef (GRSB).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The GRSB is an international organization with representatives from 24 countries, whose mission is \u200d\u201cthe\u200d advancement of sustainability in the\u2063 global \u2064beef value chain.\u201d Its members include\u2064 three of the four \u2063dominant meat\u200b packers: Tyson Foods, JBS,\u200d and Cargill.<\/p>\n<p>In 2021, \u200cthe GRSB announced its commitment\u2063 to \u201creduce the net \u2062global\u2063 warming impact of beef\u200b 30% by \u20642030 through global \u2062sustainability goals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Global Roundtable\u200d for \u2063Sustainable Beef is perpetuating this globalism, where the\u2064 standards are being set, \u200bnot in the United States, but globally,\u201d Mr. Bullard said. \u201cThey are dictating standards to\u2063 producers, and they are able to enforce \u200dthose standards by li<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>have less than 5 million. I don&#8217;t want to see that happen to the cattle industry. We need to adapt and find new ways to stay competitive in the global market. Otherwise, we&#8217;ll end up like Ireland and the Netherlands, struggling to survive.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":887,"featured_media":2025642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2025641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2025641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/887"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2025641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2025641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2025642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2025641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2025641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2025641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}