Trump Ushers in 300,000 Tons of Foreign Mystery Meat and Sends American Farmers Into Bankruptcy

The president justified the beef imports by saying Argentina is in trouble and needs help, not by citing U.S. beef prices.

The president quadrupled beef imports and added 330,000 metric tons, with 80,000 from Argentina, to help Argentina's economy and due to geopolitical alliances. The real motivation is geopolitical, as Argentina's president is an ally of Israel's prime minister, unlike Venezuela's Maduro.

Four companies control 85% of U.S. cattle and four grocery chains control 69% of retail, causing price gouging and farmer underpayment. 63 farmers go out of business daily while consumers face high grocery prices, indicating a rural crisis.

Capitalism fails without competition, and both parties have eroded it, allowing monopolistic power.

JBS confessed to bribing up to 1,800 Brazilian politicians to increase share value and borrow billions. Pilgrim's Pride, JBS's poultry division, gave $5 million to Trump's inaugural committee. JBS executives met with the president to discuss beef prices and Brazilian tariffs. Al Amanza, a former USDA official who kept U.S. borders open to Brazilian beef for 97 days during a tainted meat scandal, now works for JBS as head of global food safety.

Global beef supply is lower than last year due to weather and farmers being underpaid, creating a seller's market. It is illogical to sell beef at a 25% discount in a seller's market unless it is unsellable elsewhere.

The imported beef is likely tainted or low-quality meat that other countries rejected.

The U.S. lacks mandatory country of origin labeling for beef, so consumers cannot know where imported meat comes from. Meatpackers oppose labeling to avoid commingling restrictions and because consumers will pay more for verified U.S. beef.

Senator Thune's bipartisan American Beef Labeling Act should be passed immediately.

China rejected Argentine beef because it contained a banned antibiotic residue that stays in muscle tissue and risks antibiotic resistance. The U.S. is importing beef from Argentina without sufficient testing to ensure it lacks the banned antibiotic residue.

The administration should reinstate FSIS inspectors to test Argentine beef for the banned antibiotic.

A rule now requires meat labeled "Product of the USA" to be born, raised, slaughtered, and processed in the U.S.

Consumers should look for this label to guarantee they are eating American beef and supporting U.S. farmers.

The imported beef will be used for ground beef or emulsified products, not whole muscle cuts like steaks. U.S. plants import lean trimmings to mix with domestic fat to achieve desired lean-to-fat ratios for hamburger.

The imported meat may include low-quality tailings or emulsified slurry from foreign processing plants.