Vegetarians Should Back U.S. Ranchers vs. Trump’s Beef Import Plan

Let me get this out of the way first: I have been a vegetarian for almost as long as I can remember, which is why the increase in beef prices hasn’t fazed me much.

The cattle industry, which has largely supported Trump, is outraged. U.S. per capita meat consumption stands at 219 pounds a year — the highest in the world. (Photo: National Cattlemen’s Beef Association LinkedIn) 

But I am paying attention to what’s happening to American cattle ranchers — and it stinks, Stephanie Finucane wrote in an opinion piece for the San Luis Obispo Tribune.

After years of financial hardship brought on by droughts, high grain prices, inflation, and higher interest rates, the recent uptick in consumer prices is providing some financial relief to ranchers — “a rare bright spot in the struggling agricultural sector,” as Politico put it.

But now President Donald Trump — in a panic over grocery prices that remain stubbornly high — is undercutting the U.S. cattle industry with his plan to quadruple beef imports from Argentina.

He even had the gall to say that U.S. ranchers “have to get their prices down.” This, from a president who has preached “America First.”

The cattle industry, which has largely supported Trump, is outraged. U.S. per capita meat consumption stands at 219 pounds a year — the highest in the world.

“The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and its members cannot stand behind the president while he undercuts the future of family farmers and ranchers by importing Argentinian beef in an attempt to influence prices,” the organization’s CEO, Colin Woodall, said.

“It is imperative that President Trump and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins let the cattle markets work.”

The association also noted that “Argentina is a nation with a long history of foot-and-mouth disease, and the USDA has not completed the necessary steps to ensure Argentina can guarantee the safety of the products being shipped here.”

Trump, it seems, is more interested in placating the public than ensuring food safety.