The South Dakota Stock Growers Association, R CALF and the Nebraska Farmers Union all want an immediate ban by the United States on imports of Brazilian beef. Earlier China, Chile, Egypt banned Brazilian beef due to reports of alleged corruption at meat packing plants in the South American country that led to tainted meat. Those countries have now resumed imports. R CALF CEO Bill Bullard says the U.S. needs to put the ban in place to protect American consumers.

South Dakota Stock Growers Executive Director Silvia Christen says her group’s members are concerned primarily about food safety and also about consumer confidence given the lack of country of origin labeling on beef products.

Bullard says his group, South Dakota Stock Growers and Nebraska Farmers Union all want COOL reinstated as well as the ban put in place.

Twenty one Brazilian beef plants have been implicated in the scandal that revealed bribery and corruption at high levels of the companies and government authorities.