Our Industry’s Mission: Safe, Affordable, Varied and Abundant Meat and Poultry
The U.S. meat and poultry directly industry employs nearly 800,000 essential workers across the country who work hard to produce the most affordable, abundant, varied meat supply in the world. Moreover, our industry is an economic engine that has a $1 trillion impact on the U.S. economy.
Meat and poultry is similar to many other mature industries which operate on a large scale – from airlines to cellular telephones to home appliance and auto manufacturers - in which several large companies are complemented by a large number of small and medium sized firms. Federal reviews of our industry, like the Research Triangle Institute report (pdf), have found it to be dynamic and competitive. Academic analyses have found that meat and poultry companies, the livestock and poultry producers that supply us and consumers themselves benefit from our efficient operations and the collaboration that exists between farmers, ranchers and processors.
Periodically , our industry’s structure has been criticized by those who prefer a different production model. But given our record of providing abundant choices that are safe, affordable and that meet a wide array of consumer preferences under careful government oversight we say, “The market works.” Let innovation and collaboration continue to deliver a meat and poultry supply prized around the world.
The COVID-19 situation has impacted all sectors of the economy including the agriculture and food value chain. Like all of the U.S. economy, the U.S. livestock and meat sector was put under great strain due to COVID-19, but remains incredibly resilient. While there have certainly been unprecedented short-term disruptions to the food supply chain during this global pandemic, consumers are still seeing meat and poultry in the grocery stores.
Our industry, with its farmer/producer partners, has responded to this unprecedented global challenge by maintaining production, addressing worker health and safety and continuing to produce high-quality, nutritious protein.
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