Farmer ‘alarmed’ with Trump’s plan to roll back meat processing regulations

[u/Conscious-Quarter423]

https://www.newsnationnow.com/business/your-money/farmer-trump-meat-processing-plan-beef-usda/

[u/Snickrrs]

I agree. Leopards ARE eating their faces.

That being said (and I DO realize what sub I’m in) all of the people who are wishing ill will on these farmers will see leopards eating their own faces if that ill will does befall them.

We’re all stuck in this stupid shitty system together.

(I’m what one would consider a “blue dot” farmer. Many of my rural neighbors and many of the local businesses that I rely on to provide farm services are NOT “blue dot” farmers or ag service providers. In order for my farm business to succeed, I still need to work with these people. If they fail, there are no other options. This is likely the case with most rural businesses, especially those that are ag focused.)

[u/Organic-Prize-1180 → u/Snickrrs]

If them failing is what it would take for them to actually change their votes, then that's what will have to happen. There are a billion other reasons they could have chosen to not vote like fucking morons harming the entire rest of the nation consistently for decades. They chose none of them and clearly don't intend on learning their lessons without pain. There's no middle ground. We are already all fucked. In terms of electoral politics, that's the only thing that might make them change their vote. Tell them this. What are they going to do otherwise if they have no other options?

[u/Snickrrs → u/Organic-Prize-1180]

It’s not just them failing though… they’re taking down you, your friends, your family, and everyone else with them. That’s the point.

People also need to vote with your dollar, because like it or not we live in a capitalist society and ultimately that’s what counts.

To many of the people bitching are still buying lattes at Starbucks made with almond milk and then drinking them while wondering around Target to shop for unnecessary items to fill the empty rooms in their giant houses. I know these people personally: these people say they are mad at farmers but still make everyday decisions that undermine the world they say they want to live in. And yes, there are choices for the vast majority of these people, the alternatives just aren’t as convenient.

[u/Organic-Prize-1180 → u/Snickrrs]

I know they are, they have been this entire time. That's the point. This is far from the first thing that has happened to me, my friends, or family due to their voting choices. People's dollars are going to be going to the food they can afford; full stop. I buy from the discount shelf and eat rice and beans 5-7 days a week. There aren't any more dollars to vote with.

People who have that disposable income, that will still have it once prices go up and available quality goes down, that live in an area with multiple choices, that aren't also pro-Trump themselves, are not the majority of people. Their dollars aren't what's going to make social change.

When I did have spare income, I was already buying as local as I could. I used to split a full cow with people I worked with a while back from a single farm before COVID. I'd do that again... if I had that money available to me.

Consumer choice exists, but it is heavily constrained by income, geography, time, availability, and market structure, so treating individual consumer choice as the primary mechanism for fixing systemic agricultural/supply-chain problems is unrealistic.