A rancher who raises cattle in Texas and Colorado sounded the alarm that the U.S. government is importing what he considered inferior beef from Namibia while American ranchers are facing the possible “depopulation” of their herds.
“Yesterday (April 26), the first shipment of imported beef from the country of Namibia hit the shores of the United States of America,” Rancher Shad Sullivan said in a video posted on Twitter. “And yet, this morning, they (U.S. Department of Agriculture) are telling us to prepare to euthanize harvest-ready cattle.”
This is scary. North Texas rancher Shad Sullivan explains why our nations food supply is at risk.
Foreign meats are now being imported onto American soil.
They in the process of having to euthanize millions of chickens and may soon have to do the same to the cows. pic.twitter.com/xnscaLjF57
— Derek Utley (@realDerekUtley) April 28, 2020
“Am I the only one that sees a problem with this?” Sullivan asked. “It is time we get the American people back to work. It is time we get money flowing. It is time we get food on the shelves.”
Breitbart Texas contacted Sullivan about what prompted his impassioned video.
“On Sunday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture promised to help cattle producers find alternative markets for livestock producers after several meatpacking plants shut down over Coronavirus concerns. They followed that saying that if alternative markets cannot be found, they would ‘advise and assist on depopulation and disposal methods.’”
Sullivan said ranchers and farmers are facing unprecedented times where chicken and hogs are being destroyed, harvest-ready crops are being plowed under, and milk is being poured on the ground by the hundreds of thousands of gallons.
The Texas rancher told Breitbart the U.S. government is importing inferior beef from countries like Namibia while American ranchers are facing the possible euthanasia of the cattle that are now ready to take in for processing.
“The American public won’t know what they are getting,” Sullivan explained. “There is currently no ‘County of Origin’ labeling requirement on beef packaging.”
“We face losing our cattle and millions of dollars invested while food processors are making record profits,” he concluded.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced he will sign an executive order declaring meat-producing plants as “critical infrastructure,” Breitbart News reported. The president is using the authority granted under the Defense Production Act to order companies to stay open. The order will also provide protective gear for the workers of the plants.
“We’ll probably have that today solved,” Trump said. “It was a very unique circumstance because of liability.”
In the meantime, Sullivan says his cattle are “harvest-ready” with nowhere to go.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Face