The North American Meat Institute (NAMI) claimed the Secretary of Agriculture’s transparent attempts to scapegoat the meat and poultry industry to shift blame for inflationary prices will not help consumers.
NAMI President and CEO Julie Anna Potts states, “Americans are experiencing firsthand what the Secretary refuses to acknowledge, the effects of COVID and lack of labor are hurting consumers, and nothing proposed by the Secretary of Agriculture on the structure of the meat and poultry industry will help families struggling to pay for groceries.”
After repeated attempts to convey the challenges faced by meat and poultry packers and processors in meeting extraordinary consumer demand to Biden Administration officials, Potts sent a letter to Secretary Vilsack. The letter is in response to Vilsack’s comments during a White House press briefing earlier this month. At the time, Vilsack comments that the structure of the meat and poultry industry is causing price inflation for meat and poultry products.
The National Association of Farm Broadcasting and the American Farm Bureau Federation contributed to this report.