National Cattlemen November 2023 | Page 5

From the President

Todd Wilkinson

Last month , I had the opportunity to travel to the Netherlands to attend the 2023 World Meat Congress . This was the first meeting of the World Meat Congress since 2018 due to COVID-19 , and it was an opportunity for global livestock producers , trade associations , exporters and meat processors to discuss the major issues facing the meat industry .

The World Meat Congress is held by the International Meat Secretariat ( IMS ), an international non-profit organization of meat industry stakeholders , and this meeting could not have come at a more important time . Livestock producers around the world face many of the same challenges that we face in the U . S ., from anti-meat climate regulations to the rise of cell-cultured proteins . Unfortunately for many of our neighbors , they have few allies in their home governments to defend their way of life .

At one session , we heard from a Dutch animal rights organization trying to convince attendees their animal welfare labeling scheme was the only viable option for meat products . What struck me was how the Dutch animal rights representatives told cattle producers that consumers had no faith in producers ’ ability to provide a high level of animal welfare for their animals , but their labeling scheme was the solution . Meanwhile , this same organization was attacking livestock producers on social media and sowing seeds of doubt in consumers . Creating a problem and then offering the “ only viable solution ” is the definition of a protection racket !

This experience reminded me why it is so important for cattle producers to have a seat at the table during every discussion . Without our engagement in Washington , D . C ., and across the world , American cattle producers could easily face similar challenges in the future with anti-agriculture activists calling the shots .

At a different meeting , we heard from Mosa Meats , a Dutch cell-cultured protein company that claims to have the ability to manufacture 80,000 hamburger patties from one sample of

cells harvested from live cattle . This cell-cultured company is bankrolled by celebrity investors like Leonardo DiCaprio who hope to eliminate traditionally raised cattle by replicating the intellectual property of real cattle in factories with bioreactors to develop a product mimicking ground beef . Thankfully , NCBA had a chance to hold their feet to the fire and ask questions about how they planned to compensate cattle producers for the intellectual property of their cattle when they were to harvest samples from cattle . The company had never considered that issue and once again , we were at the forefront of discussions about how emerging technologies will impact our industry .

I am pleased to report that after these meetings , NCBA gained new leadership roles in the IMS . Moving forward , we will have a representative on the IMS Board of Directors and Executive Council , and NCBA will chair the Beef Committee too . We will be guiding future cattle and beef discussions on the world stage , and I am proud that NCBA will be in this leadership role .

Traveling to these overseas meetings always reminds me why it ’ s so important to fight for the cattle industry here in the U . S . Antiagriculture misinformation runs rampant in Europe and other parts of the world where activists drive politicians to push non-scientific , anti-agriculture regulations in the name of protecting the climate or improving animal welfare . That could be our fate if we fail to engage . Attending international forums and keeping constant pressure on Congress is vital to our work as an organization in protecting your farm or ranch . NCBA was the only U . S . cattle organization in attendance at the World Meat Congress and the only organization with a prospective of the cattle producers and feeders . If we bury our heads in the sand and say what happens in the rest of the world doesn ’ t matter , we will become irrelevant in shaping world opinions . I , for one , would rather be at the table than on the menu .

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