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Senator Booker proposes phasing out CAFOs, adding COOL, and other ag mandates

A U.S. Senator has proposed mandatory changes to U.S. livestock farming.  New Jersey Democrat Cory Booker’s Farm System Reform Act of 2019 would include a nationwide ban on new large livestock operations or CAFOs and phase out existing ones by 2040.  

The legislation would also change the Packers and Stockyards Act to require country of origin labeling on beef, pork, and dairy products.

Environmental groups including Food and Water Action praise the bill.  R-CALF-USA’s Bill Bullard tells Brownfield his membership cannot support the entire bill. “We continue to support the provisions that will help to restore competition to our marketplace but we’ll not support provisions that restrict our members’ ability to grow their respective businesses and to compete in the industry.”

Booker’s bill would limit farms to 700 mature dairy cows, 1,000 veal calves, 1,000 total cattle, 2,500 swine, 10,000 sheep or lambs, 30,000 laying hens or broilers, and 55,000 turkeys.  It would also place limits on meatpackers for livestock ownership and require more spot market purchases.

So far, the other major farm organizations have not commented on the bill.

Senator Booker has been a vegetarian since 1992 and switched to a fully vegan diet in 2014.