U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie reintroduced a bill to amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act to allow farmers and ranchers to sell their cuts of meat to consumers, restaurants, hotels, boarding houses, and grocery stores without the need for the meat to first go to a Department of Agriculture inspection facility.
Massie said the bill — Processing Revival and Intrastate Meat Exemption, or PRIME Act — would allow local farmers and ranchers to thrive. The president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association said it would enable uninspected beef to enter the marketplace, which would be dangerous to consumers.
Under current law, farmers and ranchers who slaughter their own animals can avoid federal regulations if the meat is used for household, personal, guest, or employee use. However, if they want to sell their meat to consumers, they must send it to USDA-inspected slaughterhouses — sometimes, these are hundreds of miles away, leading to increased transportation costs.
“Consumers want to know where their food comes from, what it contains, and how it’s processed,” Massie said. “Yet, federal inspection requirements make it difficult to purchase food from trusted, local farmers. It is time to open our markets to give producers the freedom to succeed and consumers the freedom to choose.”
Todd Wilkinson, the president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, reiterated that they support federal and state meat inspection.
“While the PRIME Act is well-intentioned, allowing uninspected beef to enter the retail market is dangerous to consumers,” Wilkinson said.