Independent producers stand against meatpackers, USDA
US - Among the United States' most geographically dispersed small businesses are the 774,630 independent businesses that raise beef cattle. These independent businesses comprise the U.S. cattle industry, which is by far the largest beef producer in the world. Despite multiple detections of BSE in Canadian cattle, the political influence from a handful of multi-national meatpackers soon outweighed USDA's resolve to protect the U.S. against the introduction of BSE.Source: BillingsGazette