The time has come “for deindustrializing and decentralizing the American food system [and] breaking up the meat oligopoly,” wrote environmental author @michaelpollan.
Yet little has been done to decentralize U.S. meat production trib.al/Tu93oup
@SecVilsack, secretary of @USDA, said we’re “better off having multiple plants in multiple locations — smaller facilities to produce enough product" trib.al/Tu93oup
The Biden administration, along with state and federal lawmakers, have an urgent obligation to dismantle American meat monopolies, which have gone unchallenged and unchecked for too long trib.al/Tu93oup
The USDA can begin to mobilize a plan immediately with the $4 billion allocated for food supply chain resiliency under the American Rescue Plan Act.
Beyond grant money, smaller producers and processors need other forms of USDA support trib.al/Tu93oup
Solutions include: :
➡️ Creating dedicated roles at the USDA to help local processors build regional markets
➡️ Re-empowering the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration to hold large meat processors accountable trib.al/Tu93oup
In the U.S. alone ...
🥩Four processing companies slaughter more than 80% of the beef
🐽Four meatpacking companies process roughly two thirds of the nation's hogs
🍗Five companies control about 60% of the broiler chicken market trib.al/Tu93oup
The vertical integration of livestock and poultry supply chains has stifled competition and led to widespread corruption.
The Biden administration and Congress must strengthen antitrust laws so that they more clearly apply to large scale food production trib.al/Tu93oup
Interested in learning more about the global resource crunch?
💦 Read more about how California's historic dry spell is causing people to embrace "toilet-to-tap" water twitter.com/i/events/13950…
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$700 billion is about nine times current US customs revenue, and 2.4% of the most recent estimate of US GDP.
Tariff revenue hasn’t surpassed 2% of GDP since the early 1870s, and hasn’t surpassed it on a sustained basis since the 1820s and 1830s
Trump often cites President McKinley’s high tariffs as an inspiration, but during McKinley’s presidency (1897 to 1901) tariffs generated less than half the share of GDP that $700 billion would amount to now
We *just* learned that #SVB’s downfall was announcing it was raising equity without having buyers lined up, says @matt_levine.
So why would Credit Suisse’s biggest shareholder announce they would “absolutely not” put more money into the embattled bank? trib.al/aS9oy3I
After Saudi National Bank ruled out providing more assistance, #CreditSuisse closed down 24% at 1.697 Swiss francs per share, its lowest closing price on record trib.al/nnFD2F8