WASHINGTON, DC – The nation’s leading farming and ranching member organizations and the meat and poultry industry associations today sent a letter to President Donald J. Trump applauding his leadership in working with members of Congress and federal, state and local officials. The President’s Executive Order will help ensure the integrity of the food supply chain and protect the men and women producing this vital food.
The letter was signed by Zippy Duvall, President, American Farm Bureau Federation, Colin Woodall, CEO, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Mike Brown, President, National Chicken Council, Neil Dierks, CEO, National Pork Producers Council, Joel Brandenberger, President and CEO, National Turkey Federation and Julie Anna Potts, President and CEO, North American Meat Institute.
The following is the text of the letter sent Friday, May 1, 2020:
Donald Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20050
Dear President Trump,
Our organizations representing the nation’s beef, pork, chicken and turkey farmers and ranchers and meat and poultry packers and processors would like to reiterate our thanks to you for your leadership and partnership with your administration, Congressional leaders, state Governors around the country and local leaders and health officials as our industry ensures the ongoing production of meat and poultry to feed Americans during the COVID-19 crisis. Feeding Americans is a non-partisan issue, and we are proud to work with our nation’s leaders to avert major supply chain disruptions and hardships for hundreds of thousands farmers and ranchers across the country and keep safe, affordable food on the plates of millions of Americans.
This week’s Executive Order enacting the Defense Production Act to keep meat plants open is a key first step toward stabilizing the current plant capacity challenge and overcoming other major hurdles facing meat producers. Given our unprecedented times and challenges in many major industries, there’s no way to know to what the extent or scope of continued disruptions might be, but we do know that, with the safety and well-being of essential people top of mind, our farmers and ranchers need and want to get their animals to market so we can continue delivering meat and poultry to consumers.
The health and safety of the essential men and women in packing plants remains paramount. Companies already have taken extra steps to protect their employees, but the additional PPE and guidance made possible by enacting the Defense Production Act is welcome news. These heroic essential men and women are providing for their own families and keeping our country fed. They deserve our thanks and our support.
As the administration develops further guidance toward implementing the DPA to keep plants open, we are committed to continuing to work with you and government leadership at every level to ensure that we are doing everything in our power on behalf of our farmers and ranchers, animals, essential people and American consumers. Thank you again for your support of our industry and the key role we play feeding Americans.
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The North American Meat Institute is the leading voice for the meat and poultry industry. The Meat Institute’s members process the vast majority of U.S. beef, pork, lamb, and poultry, as well as manufacture the equipment and ingredients needed to produce the safest and highest quality meat and poultry products.
