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Tag: About North American Meat Institute

  • New Data Highlights Continuous Improvement, Sustainability Across Meat Sector

    In the second year of the meat sector’s pioneering data collection and reporting on five key focus areas for continuous improvement, the number of companies submitting data grew by nearly 60% and now covering more than half of all establishments operated by Meat Institute members.

    With 93% of the Meat Institute’s largest member companies (more than 2000 employees) submitting data, the report reflects commitments and actions covering an estimated 90% of meat sold in the United States. The Meat Institute’s metrics and goals align closely with on-farm efforts in beef, pork, poultry and feed to drive supply chain-wide sustainability.

    Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts commented:

    “98% of American households purchase meat, putting our sector undoubtedly at the center of sustaining healthy diets, healthy communities, and a healthy planet for generations to come.

    The Meat Institute has a clear vision for 2030 and has established measurable targets to verify progress along the way, including through this game-changing data collection and reporting which will incentivize sector-wide implementation of best practices and allow us to identify gaps where further resources are needed to achieve ambitious goals.”

    Among the Meat Institute’s five focus areas for continuous improvement, one key target is the Meat Institute’s aim for 100% of members to have set a science-based emissions reduction target by 2030. To date, 14 Meat Institute general members representing the majority of meat sold in the United States, plus 10 supplier/allied members, have set or publicly committed to set targets verified by the Science-Based Targets Initiative.

    Of establishments reporting data, 66% are covered by a company commitment to set scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction goals; 62% are covered by a company commitment to set scope 3 emissions reduction goals. In September, the Meat Institute and the UN Global Compact Network USA jointly released a practical tool to help meat companies conduct emissions surveys, the first critical step in the path to setting science-based targets.

    Aiding another key target to help families facing hunger access enough high-quality protein, Meat Institute members donate tens of millions of dollars and meals to food banks and charities across the country every year. The majority of companies reporting data contributed to food banks and charities in 2022. Examples of food security actions in this reporting period include:

    • Bob Evans Farms announced a four-year partnership with Mid-Ohio Food Bank to donate more than $1 million in cash and food contributions.
    • Hormel Foods and Tyson Foods partnered to support communities affected by the Maui wildfires, with Hormel donating more than 264,000 cans of SPAM and Tyson donating more than 100,000 lbs of protein.
    • Smithfield Foods donated 28,000 lbs of protein to Florida communities devastated by Hurricane Idalia.
    • Swaggertys has donated nearly 35,000 lbs of frozen sausage to local food banks and charity organizations so far in 2023.

    The Meat Institute’s full 2023 continuous improvement report is available HERE.

    About North American Meat Institute

    The Meat Institute is the United States’ oldest and largest trade association representing packers and processors of beef, pork, lamb, veal, turkey, and processed meat products. NAMI members include over 350 meat packing and processing companies, the majority of which have fewer than 100 employees, and account for over 95 percent of the United States’ output of meat and 70 percent of turkey production. To learn more, visit MeatInstitute.org.

    About the Protein PACT: The Protein PACT unites partners across animal protein to accelerate the entire sector’s progress toward global sustainable development goals for healthy people, healthy animals, healthy communities, and a healthy environment. Protein PACT partners are establishing transparent baselines and benchmarks, setting ambitious targets for continuous improvement, collecting data to verify and transparently report on progress, and launching comprehensive communications about animal protein’s unique place in healthy diets and sustainable food systems. To learn more, visit www.TheProteinPACT.org.

  • Meat & Poultry Industry not to Blame for Inflation

    The North American Meat Institute (Meat Institute) said consumers saw increased meat prices in 2021 because of labor shortages, greater consumer demand, supply chain problems and other factors experienced by most sectors of the economy.

     “Inflation is hurting consumers by erasing the wage gains workers received due to the tight labor market and the pandemic,” said Julie Anna Potts, President and CEO of the North American Meat Institute. “It is no wonder the Biden Administration and some members of Congress would rather hold press conferences and hearings instead of addressing the labor shortage and supply chain bottlenecks.”

    The Meat Institute submitted additional testimony for a hearing of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law called, Reviving Competition, Part 5: Addressing the Effects of Economic Concentration on Americas Food Supply.

    The testimony is here.

    The Meat Institute provided important context to antitrust allegations.

    “The meat packing industry has been, and continues to be, one of the most highly scrutinized industries when it comes to antitrust review,” said Potts in the testimony submitted. “The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) Packers and Stockyards Division (P&S) is uniquely charged, by statute, to provide on-going oversight for fair business practices and to ensure competitive markets in the livestock, meat, and poultry industries.  Additionally, any potential merger or acquisition regulators believe threatens ‘too much market power’ is subject to review by the Justice Department or the Federal Trade Commission.  The last proposed merger of two of the ‘big four’ fed cattle slaughterers occurred in 2008 – and it was blocked by the Department of Justice.”

    About North American Meat Institute
    The Meat Institute is the United States’ oldest and largest trade association representing packers and processors of beef, pork, lamb, veal, turkey, and processed meat products. NAMI members include over 350 meat packing and processing companies, the majority of which have fewer than 100 employees, and account for over 95 percent of the United States’ output of meat and 70 percent of turkey production.