{"id":475773,"date":"2022-07-20T02:59:19","date_gmt":"2022-07-19T23:59:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/wheres-the-beef-held-back-by-the-usda\/"},"modified":"2022-07-20T02:59:19","modified_gmt":"2022-07-19T23:59:19","slug":"wheres-the-beef-held-back-by-the-usda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wheres-the-beef-held-back-by-the-usda\/","title":{"rendered":"#Where\u2019s the beef? Held back by the USDA"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2496385ba8e\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2496385ba8e\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wheres-the-beef-held-back-by-the-usda\/#%E2%80%9CWheres_the_beef_Held_back_by_the_USDA%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Where\u2019s the beef? Held back by the USDA&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CWheres_the_beef_Held_back_by_the_USDA%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Where\u2019s the beef? Held back by the USDA&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>How can it be that with so much cattle in America, we sometimes can\u2019t buy meat?<\/p>\n<p>At the beginning of the pandemic, Costco, Wegmans and Kroger limited purchases of beef. Hundreds of Wendy\u2019s outlets ran out of hamburgers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow the hell can this be?\u201d says Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) in my new video. \u201cThey [Wendy\u2019s] were out of hamburger, yet you could <em>see<\/em> cattle from the drive-thru!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ens because of stupid government rules.<\/p>\n<p>Massie owns a small farm in Kentucky. \u201cI\u2019d rather deal with cattle than congressmen,\u201d he jokes. \u201cAt least [cattle] exhibit learned behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But politicians often don\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re born with the right to eat what you want,\u201d says Massie. \u201cWhy is the government getting in the middle and saying, \u2018No, you can\u2019t buy that\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo keep you safe,\u201d I push back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re not keeping you safe,\u201d Massie responds. \u201cThey\u2019re keeping you away from good, healthy food.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n    <\/aside>\n<p>American meat regulation began after activist Upton Sinclair worked undercover at a meatpacking plant and then wrote the book \u201cThe Jungle.\u201d It became a huge bestseller. Sinclair\u2019s goal was to advance <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social<\/a>ism. But his book became famous for exposing unsanitary conditions, like rat infestations and rotting meat carcasses, at packing plants.<\/p>\n<p>The outcry over that led Congress in 1906 to declare that any meat sold must get a stamp of approval from the United States Department of Agriculture.<\/p>\n<p>What did the inspection entail? An absurd technique called \u201cpoke and sniff.\u201d To find tainted meat, federal bureaucrats stuck little spikes into carcasses and then smelled the spikes.<\/p>\n<p>If they smelled something spoiled, they ordered that meat discarded.<\/p>\n<p>The process was ridiculous. The inspectors used the same spikes over and over, plunging them into multiple animals. Poking and sniffing sometimes made things worse by spreading disease from one carcass to the next.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, governments often do ridiculous things, and regulators, once they start doing them, keep doing them. The feds didn\u2019t stop \u201cpoke and sniff\u201d until the late 1990s.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/AFP_32ED677.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Ground beef\" class=\"wp-image-23123026\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/AFP_32ED677.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2048 2048w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/AFP_32ED677.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/AFP_32ED677.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/AFP_32ED677.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>In the beginning of the pandemic many stores ran out of hamburger meat.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Today, USDA inspectors do a better job. They test for bacteria. But the inspection process is so cumbersome and expensive, many small companies can\u2019t afford it.<\/p>\n<p>The result, complained President Joe Biden recently, is too much market concentration: \u201cFour big corporations control more than half the markets in beef, pork and poultry!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His remedy, unfortunately, is to give your tax money to some smaller meatpackers.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, such subsidies and regulations <em>increase<\/em> market concentration.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe bigger the government, the bigger the corporations,\u201d Massie points out. \u201cPeople who don\u2019t like big corporations haven\u2019t figured that out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During the beginning of the pandemic, it was that market concentration that <em>caused<\/em> meat shortages when a few big meat processing plants shut down due to COVID infections.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe made our food supply brittle,\u201d says Massie. \u201cOne small disruption throws the whole thing off.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When the processors shut down, some ranchers who couldn\u2019t get to a federally approved slaughterhouse ended up killing their own animals. If only they\u2019d been able to go to a local processor.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/USA-MEAT_SENATORS.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"ground beef\" class=\"wp-image-23123029\"\/><figcaption>The USDA inspection process is expensive and many small companies can\u2019t afford it.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">REUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Massie takes his cattle to one. There, he can see the conditions himself. His local slaughterhouse meets <em>state<\/em> inspection standards.<\/p>\n<p>But since it is not USDA-certified, Massie and other ranchers who have their cattle processed there may not sell you a steak. He <em>can<\/em>, however, give it to you or eat it himself. But he may not sell it.<\/p>\n<p>To fix that, Massie proposes a new law: the PRIME Act, which would let farmers sell meat processed by <em>state<\/em>-approved slaughterhouses, with no federal meddling.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re self-dealing,\u201d I tell him. \u201cJust trying to help yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve got 50 cattle,\u201d he replies. \u201cThis is the most inefficient self-dealing any politician has ever engaged in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Massie says he\u2019s doing it because Americans ought to have a right to eat whatever we want to buy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt boggles my mind why Washington, DC, needs to be involved in a transaction between me . . . and a customer who\u2019s my neighbor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>John Stossel is creator of Stossel TV and author of \u201cGive Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>\n                        <\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/07\/19\/wheres-the-beef-held-back-by-the-usda\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Where\u2019s the beef? Held back by the USDA&#8221; How can it be that with so much cattle in America, we sometimes can\u2019t buy meat? At the beginning of the pandemic, Costco, Wegmans and Kroger limited purchases of beef. Hundreds of Wendy\u2019s outlets ran out of hamburgers. \u201cHow the hell can this be?\u201d says Rep. Thomas&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":475774,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/newspress-collage-23120754-1658274396515.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1658260076&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[131482,72639,70511,78800],"class_list":["post-475773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-7-19-22","tag-beef","tag-meat","tag-usda"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=475773"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475773\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/475774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=475773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=475773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=475773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}