AS SOUTHERN TIER SEES RECORD HIGH GROCERY COSTS, SCHUMER ANNOUNCES LANDMARK LEGISLATION TO BREAK UP THE MEATPACKING MONOPOLIES, HELP FARMERS, AND DRIVE DOWN COST OF MEAT FOR[...]

Schumer Says Four Corporate Giants Dominate Meat Market, Squeezing Farmers And Ranchers Who Keep Just 16 Cents Of Every Dollar Spent On Food And Rigging The System Against Southern Tier Families

New Schumer Bill Will Break Up Big Monopolies In Meat Packing That Lead To Higher Prices For Consumers & Hurt Farmers And Restore Real Competition To Help Farmers And Smaller Meat Producers While Lowering Prices

Schumer: New Bill Will Bring Down Costs For Families At The Grocery Store

As Southern Tier families face the rising cost of groceries, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer today stood with Southern Tier farmers and families at Chemung County Cornell Cooperative Extension to introduce the Family Grocery and Farmer Relief Act. The Senator's new landmark legislation would break up the big meat monopolies, boost farmers Upstate, and lower grocery costs for families.

"The meatpacking monopoly is driving up costs for New Yorkers in the Southern Tier at the grocery store and rigging the game against local farmers. Corporate giants dominate the meat market and set prices sky-high for families, all while squeezing profits from farmers by eliminating competition, and it needs to end," said Senator Schumer. "That's why I'm introducing legislation - the Family Grocery and Farmer Relief Act - to break up the monopoly and lower costs. This bill is centered around making groceries more affordable, making farmers more profitable, and putting the needs of working middle-class people ahead of the interests of powerful corporations. Local businesses are the backbone of communities; they love their customers and want prices to be affordable, and they get hurt by big corporations and suppliers rigging the game against consumers. America's economy and our Main Streets are stronger when costs are lower, and we have true competition, and this bill will do exactly that."

According to analysis from the Urban Institute, New York's 23^th Congressional District - which covers Chemung, Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, and Tioga Counties as well as parts of Schuyler, Steuben, Erie, and Niagara Counties - has experienced an increase in the average monthly cost of groceries. In the past five years, monthly grocery prices for a family of four have increased from $870 to $1,110 each month, a whopping nearly 30% increase.

Schumer explained that a major driver of high meat prices is a food system rigged in favor of corporate monopolies. Four companies, Tyson Foods, JBS, Cargill, and National Beef, control 85% of the beef market, 67% of the pork market, and 60% of the chicken market.

Schumer's Family Grocery and Farmer Relief Act is a competition-driven, pro-farmer, pro-rancher, pro-worker, pro-consumer, cost-of-living bill that breaks up dominant meatpackers and uses all available tools to stop unfair pricing that drives up grocery bills for American families. The bill would force the biggest meatpackers to choose a line of business instead of dominating beef, pork, and chicken all at once, and aims to provide financial and technical assistance to farmers' cooperatives and small businesses that seek to acquire, operate, or expand meatpacking plants or facilities, helping make more local supply chains to lower costs. In addition, to directing the FTC to go after foreign-controlled conglomerates that squeeze American producers and distort U.S. markets.

"CCE Chemung is grateful for Senator Schumer's long-standing interest in agriculture and food affordability," said Michell Podolec, Executive Director of Chemung County Cornell Cooperative Extension. "I appreciate his continued attention to supporting our farmers and maintaining strong local food systems."

"I'm excited about this legislation because it will help my farm, and other local Southern Tier livestock farmers," said Ike Mallula, Owner and Farmer at Red House Ranch. "This bill is encouraging growth in the meat packing and processing sector."

"We love serving our community, but the current agriculture landscape has made it incredibly difficult," said Mike Sullivan Owner of Hilltop Inn in Elmira. "The cattle inventory hasn't been this low since the 1950s, which has driven our own beef procurement costs up by over 60% in the last few years. As a restaurant, our priority is maintaining the high-quality our guests expect without making dining out a luxury they have to cut back on."

"We have struggled with profitability, as costs have increased just as quickly as we could ramp up revenue," said Greg and Lily DeForest-Campbell, owners of 1897 Beekman House Bed and Breakfast. "High energy and fuel bills have certainly played a part, but grocery prices have had one of the most significant factors in our struggle to stay afloat. Consolidation in the grocery and meat packing industries have clearly played a strong role in these rising costs, with an accompanying decline in quality and availability here in rural New York. New Yorkers shouldn't have to work sixteen hour days, day in and day out, just to worry about keeping grocery bags full. We thank Senator Schumer for the introduction of this bill, and for his efforts to help hard-working New Yorkers stay afloat in these increasingly expensive times."

###

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Tweet