Beef Checkoff program
The purpose of this program is to disburse funds to realize the "Beef Industry’s Long Range Plan." [1]
Origins
In 1985, during the Reagan administration’s campaign to fleece federal lands for privatized grazing, congress passed the Beef Promotion and Research Act, placing a small tax on cattle sales to fund industry advertising in public spaces, which has grown over the years with the expansion of the industry.[2]
It began in 1985 as an industry collaboration with Reagan's USDA to "promote beef" (shortly after extensive USDA training by Allan Savory from 1980-1982).[3]
Marketing
When Americans ask, “What’s for dinner?,” most will automatically reply: “Beef.” That’s hardly a surprise. Back in 1992 the industry spent $42 million of beef checkoff money spreading the slogan “Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner.”
As for its effectiveness, consider this quote from the industry’s own website: “In the minds of the many consumers hearing that question [‘What’s for dinner?’], a dominant answer has been planted: Beef. It’s what’s for dinner. Not just planted, in fact. Watered, nourished and cared for over the past two decades.”
...The USDA actually reviews the promotional messages prepared by checkoffs. As David Robinson Simon writes in his book "Meatonomics": ... "The background sounds you’re hearing are the imposing bass tones of the U.S. government . . . a lack of government involvement would likely lead to the decline—or maybe the end—of checkoffs.”[4]
Funding
Like other checkoff programs, the beef checkoff is funded by a mandatory fee on farmers large and small. This checkoff money is the primary funding source for large agribusiness industry groups - such as the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, the National Pork Producers Council, and the U.S. Dairy Export Council.[5]
Greenwashing
The Beef Board has kept up with the times, recently taking interest in climate messaging. “Improving grazing management techniques [can] enhance carbon sequestration particularly on land that has been degraded,” Sara Place wrote in one of many articles sponsored by the federal Beef Checkoff program during her tenure as Senior Director of Sustainable Beef Production at the National Beef Cattleman’s Association.[6]
Sources
- ↑ https://www.beefboard.org/checkoff/about-checkoff/
- ↑ https://medium.com/@unpopularscience/the-regenerative-ranching-racket-fe6cce917a42
- ↑ https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/research-promotion/beef
- ↑ https://www.salon.com/2016/04/03/this_is_why_you_crave_beef_inside_secrets_of_big_meats_billion_dollar_ad_and_lobbying_campaigns/
- ↑ https://prospect.org/power/2023-04-04-big-ag-lobbies-against-farmers/
- ↑ https://medium.com/@unpopularscience/the-regenerative-ranching-racket-fe6cce917a42