The pandemic has played havoc with every facet of the food chain from farm to fork, and the U.S. government has earmarked literally trillions of dollars in aid to individuals and the business and industrial sectors. And just because more than 200 million people have been vaccinated does not mean that an end to the pandemic and accompanying financial woes are at hand. We still have a long way to go before we are at the end of the tunnel.
In the meantime, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that his Department of Agriculture has established new programs and efforts to bring financial assistance to farmers and food industry producers who have felt the impact of COVID-19 market disruptions. The new initiative is called “USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers” and will impact a broader set of producers than in prior COVID-19 aid programs. USDA is dedicating at least $6 billion toward the new programs. The department is also developing rules for new programs that will put a greater emphasis on outreach to small and socially disadvantaged producers, specialty crop and organic producers, as well as provide support for the food supply chain. The USDA said that existing programs like the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) will fall within the new initiative and, where statutory authority allows, will be refined to better address the needs of food producers. For more information, contact USDA through their website (www.USDA.gov) or through your USDA representatives whom your company currently works with.
Agriculture Department Budget
Meatingplace News reported that President Biden’s fiscal year 2022 discretionary spending request to Congress includes $27.8 billion for USDA, a $3.8 billion increase from the level enacted in 2021, according to the Office of Management and Budget. This is obviously good news for the food industry. The 2022 discretionary request provides funding to USDA to create new jobs and opportunities in rural communities, helps to restore America’s advantage in agriculture, supports new approaches to address climate change, and supports a strong nutrition safety net which is, of course, most meaningful to the food retail industry.
Specifically for the food industry, the administration’s discretionary request proposal would provide $6.7 billion, more than $1 billion above the 2021 enacted level, for critical nutrition programs, including the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to help vulnerable families put healthy food on the table and address racial disparities in maternal and child health outcomes. In making the budget announcement Secretary Vilsack said, “The president’s budget provides the resources to build back better, stronger, and more resilient and equitably than ever before and will ensure that Americans have access to healthy and nutritious food.”
What is next? Congress can now begin to write the annual spending bills for each federal agency including, of course, USDA. Biden’s full budget request, including tax changes and more detailed funding plans, is expected to be rolled out later this spring. Stay tuned.
No More Food Boxes
Remember the food box distribution program that our former president launched in order to provide emergency food to hungry and needy Americans? The program has ended abruptly! In 2020, USDA spent six times its normal emergency food budget on the Farmers to Families Food Box Program due to COVID-19. In addition to its high cost, the program also faced uneven distribution of the emergency food boxes nationwide, which left some rural communities underserved according to a recent item in Agweb News.
Vilsack is reported to now be looking to redirect tax dollars to focus on different hunger initiatives, including expanding food stamp benefits and increasing food purchases through existing government food distribution programs.
Alternative Protein Future Markets
Last month’s legislative column focused on the future growth of cell-grown and soy-based food alternatives and I received some nice comments from readers thank you. I mentioned that these alternatives will be a thing of the future. If you doubted me, Meatingplace News ran an item just at press time that said that by 2035, about 11 percent of all meat, eggs, dairy and seafood served will be made from alternative proteins as the total market reaches at least $290 billion in sales.
Meatingplace also reported that the combination of faster scientific progress and no-holds-barred government backing through regulations could mean the market hits 22 percent of total meats! But for this to happen, consumers must feel like the taste and texture of these products at least matches those of conventional meats.
Earth Day
April 22 was Earth Day (I am sure you recalled that) and USDA announced on that day that it was investing $487 million in critical infrastructure that will help communities across the U.S. The agency announced that it will focus on transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, etc. Your tax dollars are at work!
FDA Extends Mandatory Food Registration
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that facilities that manufacture, process, pack, or hold food register with the FDA. In addition, every two years these same facilities must renew their registration before December 31. The latest biennial registration renewal period ended on December 31, 2020; however, the FDA had previously allowed facilities more time to obtain and submit a unique facility identifier (UFI) with their registration submission, a requirement that began during the 2020 biennial registration renewal period. Stay with me now. The news I wish to report is that FDA is further extending the time period to obtain and submit a UFI until December 31, 2022.
Remember that registration is mandatory. If you have any questions, you can call 800.216.7331 or e-mail [email protected].
Big Guy Vs. Little Guy
We all know that The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) represents the major food chains and that the National Grocers Association (NGA) represents the little guys – err independent grocers. Well NGA has come out recently to blast the business practices of the largest food retailers by calling upon Congress and federal regulators to begin investigations into what NGA views as illegal and anticompetitive business practices. To back up its claims, NGA has issued a 24-page document specifically documenting how the actions of large retailers threaten the “healthy grocery ecosystem” and argues for congressional action and investigations by the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission.
It appears to be seen what type of reaction the NGA allegations will get on the Hill as this is not the first time that NGA has cried foul. But there is a “new sheriff” in town, and one who got elected under a theme based on equity and justice so I’d bet that the NGA report will not gather dust on someone’s bookshelf. The FTC, Justice Department and state attorneys general carry a big stick and are never shy about wielding it.
Some Good News
If you have not heard the good news, Mastercard and Visa have announced that they will postpone plans to raise the fees U.S. merchants pay when customers use cards online until April of 2022. They made the announcement as businesses continue to struggle during the COVID-19 pandemic. Interchange fees are the charges a merchant pays to the card-issuing bank every time a consumer swipes their card at your checkouts.
Some Weird News
For us Easterners, you will surely find this parting item weird. Wyoming is joining a few other U.S. states that allow residents to legally use roadkill for meat. Several western states currently allow this practice but generally such legislation has failed in the past amid concerns that it would cause people to intentionally hit animals or might grant cover to poachers. Yuck!
Barry Scher is associated with the public policy firm of Policy Solutions LLC and may be reached at [email protected]
