WASHINGTON — In many respects, the U.S. meat and poultry industry is facing a number of "new realities," such as the nation’s ethanol policy, labor issues and sustainability, said Rod Brenneman, the American Meat Institute’s new chairman who is also president and CEO of Shawnee Mission, Kan.-based Seaboard Foods.
During a Dec. 11 teleconference with the press, Mr. Brenneman said ethanol remains on the radar of the trade group as it looks to 2009.
"Our nation’s ethanol policy is something that we cannot accept and in my view we have the power to change this," he said. "Prices in 2009 are expected to be about 10 percent higher for both beef and pork. We have already seen many reports on how food-price increases are affecting the American public. These prices impact our businesses, our employees and our consumers."
Mr. Brenneman is asking A.M.I. to organize in Washington a meat and poultry industry "fly-in" to allow industry to tell Congress, face-to-face, the impact these policies are having on their businesses. "We’ll have new lawmakers in place who can benefit from an honest and informative conversation with us," he added. "It’s clear we are facing a new generation of lawmakers. These men and women reflect America and only a fraction of them have agricultural experience."
Industry will also need to engage lawmakers on workforce issues. "The American labor pool has changed," Mr. Brenneman said. "We need our foreign-born workers and that need will not decline. What we can impact is the way we screen them and we must fight for the tools to ensure their eligibility."
Source: MeatPoultry.com