Last week we told you about the USDA’s new proposed rule governing “undue preference.” Undue preference in the meat industry is favoritism of one farmer over another, picking winners and losers. This proposed rule does not protect farmers, it actually protects exploitative industry practices that enable retaliation against farmers telling us the truth.
These types of exploitative practices include racial bias against farmers of color, giving worse inputs to some farmers thus reducing their incomes, terminating farmers’ contracts with little notice, forcing farmers to kill healthy chickens because they’re too small, and retaliating against farmers who speak to their elected representatives.
These types of exploitative practices are common in the meat industry. Now, USDA has taken steps to protect these practices by sanctioning them as “customary” within the industry. This new proposed rule contains provisions that allow for practices deemed “a reasonable business decision that would be customary within the industry.”
This rule will make it harder to make our food system safe and humane by keeping farmers afraid of retaliation for telling us the truth. You can help! Tell the USDA to protect farmers from corporate exploitation and abuse. Click the link below and you can comment on this rule.