Author: OCM Staff

USDA Extends Deadline for “Product of U.S.A.” Comment Period

OCM Staff

Citing “significant interest from stakeholders,” the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) approved a request from the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) and American Grassfed Association (AGA) to extend the public comment period for the groups’ petition to stop imported meat from being mislabeled “Product of U.S.A.” The new deadline for comments is Sept. 17, 2018. The OCM and AGA joint petition, filed on June 12, 2018, would restore the original FSIS handbook Read More …

Tell USDA: Stop Allowing Imported Meat to be Mislabeled “Product of U.S.A.”

OCM Staff

Do you want a food system in which the biggest cheaters win, and global monopolies control our food supply? It’s what we have today. Current USDA policy allows cheap imported meat to be mislabeled “Product of U.S.A.” Global food corporations find it very profitable to deceive U.S. consumers and drive U.S. family farmers and ranchers out of business while our government looks the other way. It’s time to stop this criminal practice, so we at Organization for Competitive Read More …

Tri-State Livestock News | Petition aims to change labeling laws for U.S. beef

OCM Staff

Tri-State Livestock News By Amanda Radke When consumers shop the meat case, they have a variety of labels to choose from such as natural, organic, antibiotic-free, grassfed, Certified Angus Beef and Certified Hereford Beef, just to name a few. While beef and pork muscle cuts are no longer under the list of commodities covered by the country-of-origin-labeling (COOL) regulation (as of February 2016), many products, such as grassfed beef, are still labeled as a “Product of U.S.A.” However, Read More …

Unstacking the Deck: A New Agenda to Tame Corruption in Washington

OCM Staff

By Rohit Chopra and Julie Margetta Morgan This is an excerpt of Mr. Chopra and Ms. Margetta Morgan’s report, “Unstacking the Deck: A New Agenda to Tame Corruption in Washington.” View the full report on the Roosevelt Institute’s website. In an October 2017 poll, Americans named “corruption of government officials” as their top fear, ranking it above North Korea’s use of nuclear weapons. According to the Pew Research Center, the last decade has been the longest stretch of low trust Read More …

Politico | Challenge to GIPSA Rollback Moves Forward

OCM Staff

Politico’s Morning Ag By Sabrina Rodriguez USDA defied the will of Congress when it rolled back two rules aimed at balancing the power between meatpacking companies and contract growers –– more widely known as the GIPSA rules, according to the latest brief filed in a lawsuit challenging Perdue’s decision to withdraw the rules last year. The lawsuit, brought by legal nonprofit Democracy Forward on behalf of the Organization for Competitive Markets, also argues that the department failed to provide a Read More …

Farmers Caught in Trade War File New Brief in Suit Challenging Rollback of Protections from Big Ag Abuse

OCM Staff

Washington, D.C. — On behalf of the Organization for Competitive Markets and individual farmers, Democracy Forward replied to the Trump Administration’s attempt to keep independent farmers out of court in their suit challenging the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s unlawful withdrawal of rules designed to protect family farms from big agribusiness abuse. The brief comes as President Trump’s trade war escalates and highlights the extent to which family farmers are paying the price for Trump Administration policies here at home. Illegally stripped of Read More …

Last day for conference early bird rate – Don’t miss “Voices from Our Communities” panel

OCM Staff

Today is the last day to reserve your hotel room at a discounted rate for OCM’s 20th Annual Food and Agriculture Conference. Rooms are booking up fast so don’t miss your opportunity to join the discussion on how we can break the corporate stranglehold on our food system. REGISTER AND BOOK YOUR ROOM We’re excited to highlight one of our outstanding panels, “Voices from Our Communities.” This conversation will focus on how market concentration impacts all of us, especially Read More …

Position Announcement: Outreach Coordinator

OCM Staff

Update, 9/11/18: This position has been filled. Location: Remote (residing in Midwestern, Southern or Western states is preferred) Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) is a national, membership-based public policy research and advocacy organization headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska. Founded in 1998, OCM is the only national think tank focusing strictly on antitrust and trade policy in agriculture. OCM represents America’s family farmers and ranchers fighting consolidation and corporate control of the food system. A major part of OCM’s effort Read More …