NEW ORLEANS — The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association will focus on four main issues this year: fake meat, trade and market access, dietary guidelines, and regulatory reform.
The association released its policy priorities for 2019 Jan. 31, following its annual convention in New Orleans.
Fake meat
In 2018, the NCBA argued successfully for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to have primary jurisdiction over the inspection and marketing of lab-produced and plant-based fake meat. Now in 2019 the group will work to ensure that a regulatory framework is implemented.
Trade and market access
The association will also focus on promoting a bilateral trade agreement with Japan, securing passage of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and expanding access for U.S. beef in China, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.
Dietary guidelines
The federal government updates its official Dietary Guidelines every five years, and as that process ramps up in 2019, NCBA will work to protect the scientific credibility of dietary guidelines and promote accurate information about the nutritional components of beef as part of a balanced diet.
Regulatory reform
Focus includes issues such as full implementation of the 2018 farm bill, enacting a permanent solution to restrictive Hours of Service rules for livestock haulers, finalizing a new water rule to replace the 2015 Waters of the U.S. rule, exempting livestock producers from EPCRA air emissions reporting requirements, modernizing and streamlining the Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and federal grazing regulations, and promoting antimicrobial stewardship by producers and preserving access to key veterinary technologies.
