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United States Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) announced today that he is drafting legislation to prohibit meatpackers from owning livestock, according to a news release from Johnson's office. In the midst of incredible consolidation and near-monopoly by agricultural processors, especially meatpackers, Johnson said this legislation is long overdue. "It is time to rein in the huge conglomerate meatpackers and reestablish a free, fair, and competitive market for independent livestock producers," Johnson said. "Just as producers demanded action in 1921, they are again demanding that Congress support free enterprise over monopoly." Johnson's legislation will send a simple yet strong message. Meatpackers will no longer be able to own livestock prior to purchase for slaughter in an open market. His legislation will provide exceptions for farmers and ranchers who own livestock in a producer owned and controlled cooperative. Johnson feels current anti-trust laws fail to address the concerns of livestock producers in the marketplace, and instead create an imbalance in bargaining power between huge meatpackers and independent livestock sellers. "We face a crossroads in the structure of agriculture," Johnson said. "We face a choice between the corporatization of agriculture and a fight for free enterprise. I gladly and proudly cast my lot with the free enterprise family agriculture that has served our country so well." |
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