With beef prices continuing to skyrocket, demand has shrunk and forced many of the largest food producers to import cheaper alternatives. Tyson Foods is among those who have been “squeezed” into not only importing more but also exporting less.
Tyson CEO Donnie King in August warned low cattle inventories were leading to difficult export market conditions. The U.S. beef cow herd in January was the smallest since 1962. As a result, imported beef products found in grocery stores and restaurants are on the rise.
“We’ll never accept imported beef,” said Jason Nelson, a disabled veteran and co-founder of survival beef company Prepper All-Naturals. “We want the beef we sell to Americans to be born, raised, slaughtered, cooked, freeze-dried, and packaged right here in the United States.”
The trend to import beef has been accelerating this year due to many factors. And unfortunately, the proposed rule change to labeling beef as “Product of USA” is still only being considered. Imported beef can still be falsely labeled if it’s imported but processed in the United States.
According to Agriculture.com, the decline in cattle numbers, after years of drought fried pasture lands used for grazing, led to soaring U.S. beef prices. Higher prices incentivize companies to import cheaper beef and discourage U.S. beef purchases by buyers like China, Japan and Egypt.