Meat industry will face a slate of issues when Obama takes office

As the world watches to see how President-elect Barack Obama and a democratically reinforced Congress in January face a global economic crisis and ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the meat industry is also watching to see how industry-specific issues will be addressed.

Meat industry insiders told Meatingplace.com there are plenty of concerns about a long list of issues, including: renewable fuel subsidies, trade, immigration, animal rights, environmental regulation and food safety regulation.

Renewable fuels
Obama has been vocal about his support for renewable fuels and biofuel tax incentives. In response to a pre-election questionnaire from the National Corn Growers Association, the president-elect said he would invest $150 billion over the next ten years in the green energy sector with a goal of 60 billion gallons of fuel coming from biofuels by 2022.

Trade
Trade issues are critical to a U.S. meat industry that has become increasingly dependent on exports for its financial viability. Obama has said he is keen to build into trade agreements enforceable labor and environmental standards to protect U.S. farmers and laborers from any unfair trading-partner advantages. The meat industry concern is ensuring that any new standards don’t disrupt current meat trade or limit future opportunities.

Immigration
Obama has said he will support additional personnel, infrastructure, and technology on the border and at ports of entry. On immigration reform, he supports a system that requires undocumented immigrants who are in good standing to pay a fine, learn English and go to the back of the line for the opportunity to become citizens.

Environmental regulation
Obama has promised to reverse what he called the Bush administration’s attempts to chip away at clean air and water standards. One Washington insider said that has the meat industry worried about talk on Capitol Hill of capping allowable carbon footprints based on industry-by-industry calculations.

Obama has promised to bring stakeholders to the table when environmental regulation impacts agriculture and to base decisions “on the best available, scientifically valid evidence and not on the ideological predispositions of agency officials or political appointees.”

Food safety
With a Democratic White House and Congress, there also is concern that proposals by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) to combine the Food and Drug Administration and USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service into a single agency could gain ground.

Animal welfare
While good animal husbandry is universally supported in the livestock and meat industry, there is concern that animal rights groups with agendas that go beyond animal welfare might find a more sympathetic audience in a Democrat-dominated Washington in the coming years.
- www.meatingplace.com