Free Republic

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Like other ranchers across the country, Rusty Kemp for years grumbled about rock-bottom prices paid for the cattle he raised in central Nebraska, even as the cost of beef at grocery stores kept climbing. He and his neighbors blamed it on consolidation in the beef industry stretching back to the 1970s that resulted in four companies slaughtering over 80% of the nation’s cattle, giving the processors more power to set prices while ranchers struggled to make a living. Federal data show that for every dollar spent on food, the share that went to ranchers and...

A couple weeks ago, Tom DeWeese sent out a letter about the World Wildlife Fund and beef. It reads in part: The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is one of the top three most powerful, radical, anti-free enterprise, UN environmental groups in the world. And WWF has succeeded in taking over the American Cattle industry! The WWF has forced cattlemen to follow radical Sustainable rules through the establishment of the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. They are getting away with this industry grab because the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is now under the control of the World Wildlife Fund. And the...

(Reuters) - The U.S. beef industry's dependence on the muscle-building drug Zilmax began unraveling here, on a sweltering summer day, in the dusty cattle pens outside a Tyson Foods Inc slaughterhouse in southeastern Washington state. As cattle trailers that had traveled up to four hours in 95-degree heat began to unload, 15 heifers and steers hobbled down the ramps on August 5, barely able to walk. The reason: The animals had lost their hooves, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture documents reviewed by Reuters. The documents show the 15 animals were destroyed. The next day, the hottest day of the...

The latest screw the consumer attack is coming from Angus Beef cattlemen and America's meat sellers. Try and find a piece of meat with the "Certified Angus Beef" (CAB) sticker on it that also has the acceptable USDA grade on it. Very difficult, if at all. My local market managers when asked about the USDA grade on thier CAB meat say: "Oh, it's choice or select." So how are we supposed to know which? I don't knowingly buy "select". This is a scam...ripoff...and consumer fraud! Complain to your meat seller and tell your congressman to force the USDA to stop...