Marcy Kaptur: “I rise to engage the fine gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Peterson) in a colloquy on unfair practices in the poultry and…”

“I rise to engage the fine gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Peterson) in a colloquy on unfair practices in the poultry and meat packing industries, and want to commend him for this incredibly visionary piece of legislation. It is a real credit to him, to his dogged work and expertise over so many years in this Congress as well as in the private sector. The current contracted system of meat and poultry production often maneuvers farmers who do the actual work of raising and feeding billions of animals into subservient positions in today's marketplace and legal system. Poultry has become one of the most vertically integrated industries in our country, with four firms controlling nearly 60 percent of the broilers raised and sold. Poultry, despite the worrisome rise of camphylobacter and salmonella through safety recalls, remains outside the normal oversight by USDA, even though GIPSA has oversight over beef and pork. The Department of Agriculture has no real power to stop unfair practices in this industry. It surely has no mediation authority. Poultry contracts often are presented to farmers as take-it-or-leave-it contracts. In many cases farmers do not even see the actual contract until after they have gone to the bank.”