NCBA calls for a halt to Brazilian Beef imports, almost two years after I was fired for doing just that
By Mackenzie Johnston
I would like to personally thank the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association for calling on Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to immediately suspend all imports of fresh beef from Brazil to the U.S after two possible cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease- the human form of mad cow disease- was discovered in Brazil. The nation’s largest cattle organization sent a letter to USDA requesting the suspension until the agency conducts a thorough risk assessment and review of the processes that Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply use to detect disease and other threats to consumers. Additionally, they urged USDA to review Brazil’s veterinary diagnostic laboratory system.
In their press release, Ethan Lane, NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs, said , “it’s time to keep fresh Brazilian beef out of the U.S. until the USDA can confirm that Brazil meets the same consumer and food safety standards that we apply to all our trade partners.”
Originally, two cases of atypical mad cow disease were reported on September 4th, however, NCBA raised no concern over the situation for over two months.
USDA closed our borders to fresh Brazilian beef imports in 2017 after it was discovered that Brazil was shipping rotten, salmonella-tainted meat worldwide. Not long after that, JBS was caught bribing inspectors in an attempt to continue the sale of this rotten meat.
Our borders were then reopened to Brazilian beef imports on February 21st, 2020. Six days later I wrote an opinion editorial for Tri-State Livestock News, that highlighted the dangers of Brazilian beef imports. As a result of that article, I was terminated from my position with Nebraska Cattlemen, a strong affiliate of NCBA. One of the reasons I was given for my termination was speaking out against Brazilian beef imports and how that narrative did not align with NC and NCBA.
The article questioning the reopening of Brazilian beef imports. Click image to read
At the time our borders were reopened, the big four meatpackers- JBS, Tyson Foods, Cargill and National Beef- were all members of NCBA.
Earlier this year, NCBA reported that JBS, the world’s largest meat packer terminated its membership. JBS allegedly told NCBA that they did not like the cattle organization requesting a Justice Department Investigation into the prices cattle producers were receiving versus packer margins. Cameron Bruett, a spokesperson for JBS, said the company suspended their membership with NCBA back in 2020 as part of an internal review about the benefit and effectiveness of their trade association investments.
As of today, Tyson Foods, Cargill and National beef are still listed as members of NCBA’s product council. (National Beef is majority owned by the Brazilian Corporation Marfrig.)
It’s ironic that when we reopened our borders back in 2020 and JBS was still a member of NCBA, the organization was fairly reserved about their concerns around Brazilian beef imports. However today, with JBS not being a part of NCBA, they have taken it upon themselves to go as far as sending a letter to Secretary Vilsack asking for Brazilian beef imports to be suspended.
Additionally, if NCBA is now passionate about addressing the threat of mad cow disease, when can we expect the organization to ask for suspension of imports from other countries that have confirmed cases in recent years?
I find it humorous that NCBA is now “coming to the rescue” to halt Brazilian beef imports when for so long they’ve been almost silent on the issue. In recent years they’ve also taken it upon themselves to try to silence those who have spoken out against the imports.
NCBA claims to be a grassroots organization, however time and time again we’ve observed the opposite; their interests work against independent cattle producers. The threat of mad cow disease making its way into our domestic herd or impacting our consumer base is serious to say the least. Let’s hope that NCBA will be able to stand their ground on this situation and not let the wind blow them every which way like we’ve seen before, but I won’t be holding my breath.
P.S. I told you so.
Mackenzie Johnston raises Red Angus cattle on her family ranch near Milburn Nebraska