Donald Trump said today that he will authorize cattle ranchers and farmers to process their own food. This comes after the president’s interview with conservative commentator Glenn Beck, where the radio host implored Trump to “look at “the meat processing cartel” and suggested easing regulations for ranchers to slaughter their own cattle.
The president has faced backlash in recent days from his own party for suspending higher tariffs on 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef to lower grocery store prices. Several Republicans and industry leaders say this is a short-term solution that will hinder cattle ranchers from building out their herd, amid a 75-year low.
“I have heard that they have had a tremendous problem with the Big Processors, who many say are a nasty Monopoly,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “There are, essentially, 4 of them, a very non competitive number, and they make life miserable for our wonderful Farmers and Ranchers, and I can’t let that happen. ”
Brooke Rollins, the president’s agriculture secretary said there would be “big announcements” next week in order to facilitate Donald Trump’s pledge to allow ranchers and farmers the ability to process their own food and avoid the “nasty monopoly” of large processing plants. Rollins said it was a “matter of national security” that the US is able to “feed and fuel ourselves”. She outlined that her department would waive “red tape in processing” and expand ranchers ability to “sell across state lines”, as well as other measures.
The agriculture secretary previously defended the president’s decision to pause higher tariffs on 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef. Earlier this week she called the move “a very short-term fix” to “get lower cost beef on to American plates” in an interview with Spectrum News. However, Rollins admitted that she did not know where the beef would be imported from. “I am actually not part of any of those conversations, so I am not sure what that looks like. I think we’ll know very soon,” she said.
