Source: NPPC press release
At the National Pork Producers Council’s (NPPC) National Pork Industry Forum held here, delegates adopted several important resolutions this week, including those that call on NPPC to:
- Strengthen efforts to prevent African swine fever (ASF) —an animal disease affecting only pigs and with no human health or food safety risks—and other foreign animal diseases from entering the United States. Separate resolutions were adopted directing NPPC to encourage federal regulatory agencies to investigate the risks of imported pet food and pet products containing pork from foreign animal disease-positive countries; take a position on feeding hogs from plate waste; and support and advance responsible import policies to safely introduce essential feed ingredients from high-risk countries.
- Advocate for accurate and truthful labeling of plant-based and cell-cultured products, while supporting enforcement of fair labeling by the Food and Drug Administration and USDA. NPPC supports consumer choice and competitive markets. Plant-based and cell-cultured products designed to mimic real meat must face the same stringent regulatory requirements as livestock agriculture, including truthful labeling standards.
- Support reauthorization of and increased export data transparency in the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act (LMRA), which provides information on the marketing of cattle, swine, lambs and products from those animals. Twice daily mandatory price reports published by USDA include information on pricing, contracting for purchase, supply-and-demand conditions for livestock, livestock production and livestock products. LMRA is set to expire on Sept. 30.
Delegates also passed a resolution reaffirming plans to increase the contribution rate of NPPC’s strategic investment program from 10 cents to 20 cents per $100 of hogs marketed, effective July 1, 2021.
“These resolutions reflect the priorities that will help shape the future of the U.S. pork industry,” said NPPC President David Herring, a hog farmer from Lillington, N.C. “NPPC will work with Congress, the administration and others to address these vital issues for American hog farmers.”