By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1 . Purpose . American ranchers want to be able to butcher, process, package, and sell their meat to consumers across State lines while maintaining the highest standards of food safety and avoid being overcharged by monopolistic practices by meat processors.
It is the policy of the United States to support these goals and reduce barriers to ranchers processing their own product for sale to consumers by promoting fair competition in livestock and meat markets; protecting producers and small processors from unfair, deceptive, or monopolistic practices; and expanding legitimate market opportunities for American-raised livestock and meat products consistent with applicable law. This order directs more vigorous enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (Public Law 67-51, 42 Stat. 159,7 U. S. C. 181 et seq .
) (the “Act”), and the maximum use of existing authorities to facilitate greater interstate market access for eligible meat products while maintaining the highest standards of food safety that help make United States born, raised, harvested, and processed food the best in the world. Sec . 2 . Robust Enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act .
(a) The Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) shall, consistent with the Act, and all other applicable law: (i) prioritize and expand investigations into potential violations of the Act by packers and other covered entities, with particular attention to unfair, unjustly discriminatory, or deceptive practices; undue or unreasonable preferences or advantages; and practices that restrain commerce or manipulate prices; (ii) increase resources, staffing, and investigative capacity within the Packers and Stockyards Division of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service, the USDA Office of General Counsel, and the USDA Office of Inspector General; (iii) coordinate…