Near the end of May, we celebrate Memorial Day. This day is a day to honor and remember all of our nation’s service members who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the U.S. military to protect our freedom, liberty, and independence. May is also Military Appreciation Month, a special time to honor and recognize the contributions, sacrifices, and service of military personnel, past and present.
Our nation’s veterans live and work alongside us in every conceivable occupation. And since many of those who served in the military are from rural America, it’s no wonder that about 9 percent of food producers – farmers and ranchers – are veterans.
But as we previously reported, the latest census estimates mean that an additional 107,000 livestock farmers and ranchers have been lost to the food production system in just the past five years.
The census also shows we lost an additional 65,000 veteran farmers and ranchers in this short period of time. This is alarming!
This puts our country’s food security at risk. Our nation’s food security is built on the agricultural system of family farms and ranches. The system was based on family farms and ranches food production operations distributed throughout the United States.
The strength of that system was its diversity and fragmentation. This means that a disaster in one region does not jeopardize the nation’s ability to maintain a continuous supply of abundant, affordable, and healthy food.
But over the past few decades, we have lost that diversity and focused on food production. That’s why we continue to lose so many farmers and ranchers, including veteran farmers and ranchers. Today’s agricultural policies prioritize industrialized agriculture over the historically successful family farm and ranch food production systems.
Globalization is one of the reasons industrial agriculture is being replaced by family farms and ranch systems. For decades, Congress has catered to global corporate interests that simply don’t care whether America produces its own food or depends on foreign countries for its sustenance.
And this is why Congress does not support mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef, or MCOOL. It is not in the interests of global corporations to tell consumers where their beef comes from. Global companies want to continue sourcing cheap beef from around the world and selling it to unsuspecting consumers as if it were produced in the United States. Global companies make huge profits by keeping consumers in the dark, and they want to keep it that way.
However, this cannot continue. So we made plans to once again reach out to our nation’s veterans for help.
The president of R-CALF USA is a military veteran and rancher. He is drafting a joint letter calling on other veterans to join and pass Mandatory Country of Origin Beef Labeling (MCOOL) so American consumers can choose beef produced exclusively in the United States. This is what we are asking Congress to do. The letter can be viewed at http://www.vetsforMCOOL.com.. Veterans can also sign the letter there.
The letter states that among the many benefits that veterans helped preserve and protect during their military service is America’s ability to freely utilize its natural resources to produce the food that is the bread of life without foreign interference. He explains.
“But over the past generation or so, Congress has stood by as hundreds of thousands of American farmers and ranchers have left the country. This has weakened our nation’s food security.”
Veterans also said, “We are patriots who want to preserve, for ourselves and our children, the family farm and ranch farming system that helped make our country strong.” “This is a patriotic and constitutional act that Congress must address.”
And speaking directly about the threat of globalism, the letter goes on to say, “Contributing to the exodus of veterans and nonveterans alike from farms and ranches is the supreme authority vested in the U.S. Constitution. Parliament’s respect for international tribunals on issues.”
Near the conclusion of the letter: “We call on Congress to stand up for America again by passing the American Beef Labeling Act (S.52) or the Country of Origin Labeling Enforcement Act (HR 5081). Both restore MCOOL.” For American Beef. This bill would allow beef produced by U.S. cattle to be labeled “United States of America.” And by choosing to purchase American beef produced from American cattle, American consumers can patriotically support American cattle producers. ”
If you are a U.S. Veteran, we encourage you to participate in this important letter. Visit http://www.vetsforMCOOL.com. Sign.
– Comment from Bill Bullard, CEO of R-CALF USA
