Support HR 3187 - Let States decide custom meat sales (PRIME Act)

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Recruit Support for the PRIME Act (HR 3187) - FAX your U.S. Representative

Learn more about PRIME Act

Update 8/25/15: H.R. 3187 assigned to Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture--Recruit Cosponsors

One of the greatest challenges facing local farmers and consumers seeking local food is the lack of infrastructure, particularly the lack of small-scale slaughterhouses. The PRIME Act (H.R. 3187) would give states the option of allowing the sale of custom processed meat. It would be a major step forward in addressing the lack of local slaughterhouses in most of the U.S. At this time, federal law prohibits the sale of custom processed meat.

Sign this FAX petition: Vote YES on H.R. 3187 that allows States to decide whether to allow the sale of custom slaughtered/processed meats.

Please add your comments including why this legislation is important to you; incorporate any of the Talking Points listed below. Click "send your message" and it will be faxed to your U.S. Representative and both Senators. Once you've submitted your message, the confirmation screen will show your legislators' names. Your message can also go to a local newspaper if you select that option.

Please follow up with a call to your U.S. legislators at the Capitol switchboard 202-224-3121. Click here to use the sample script.

TALKING POINTS:
H.R. 3187, the Processing Revival and Intrastate Meat Exemption (PRIME) Act, would give individual states the freedom to permit intra-state distribution of custom-slaughtered meat such as beef, pork, or lamb, to individual consumers and to restaurants, hotels, boarding houses, and grocery stores that directly serve consumers.

1. Under current federal law, farmers often have to haul their animals several hours away to reach a slaughterhouse that has an inspector on-site; this increases expenses for the farmer, raises prices for consumers, creates stress on the animals, and undermines the concept of local food.
2. The farmer might have a custom slaughterhouse much closer but, under the federal regulations, the meat from a custom facility can only go to the individual or individuals who owned the animal at the time the slaughter took place.
3. The PRIME Act would allow meat from custom slaughterhouses to be sold to consumers, subject to state law; each state would be able to set the requirements and limitations suitable for conditions of that state.
4. Until 1967, states were able to set their own regulations for meat processing. The consolidation of regulatory power at the federal level, combined with the consolidation of the livestock industry in the hands of a few massive corporate meatpackers, has led to the loss of thousands of small- and medium-scale slaughterhouses since 1967.
5. Demand for locally produced beef outstrips production in the U.S., in part, because of the lack of access to inspected slaughterhouses.
6. The PRIME Act is the first step to rebuilding local processing infrastructure, which can revive rural economies and enable communities to become more self-sufficient in meat production.

Last Updated 10/28/15

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