When President Trump recently proposed importing more Argentine beef to “lower prices,” it sent cattle markets into a frenzy. At first glance, that might sound like a good deal: cheaper burgers at the grocery store. But that is where the story ends, and where the real problem begins.
This proposal has highlighted a large danger in our food systems, one that we’ve been working on here at home for over a decade. The danger lies in how our food system is built — in supply chains that are too long, too fragile and too far from home.
Four multinational corporations control more than 80 percent of the U.S. meatpacking industry. They can import cheaper beef, sometimes labeling it “Product of USA” after minimal processing. That loophole undercuts American ranchers while keeping corporate profits high.
Meanwhile, small and mid-sized processors, the ones that keep jobs and value in our communities, are disappearing. COVID-19-era issues showed us how risky that concentration is from a logistical perspective. When one major plant shut down, grocery shelves went bare. We saw the same thing with baby formula and even toilet paper.
The problem is not supply. It is over-centralization. When too much power sits in too few hands, the whole system is one bad week away from breaking.
Food security is national security. And it starts with rebuilding local resilience.
Here in Southwest Washington, we did not wait for disaster to strike. Over the last decade, local leaders, farmers and economic developers have been laying the groundwork for a resilient regional food system.
In 2016, the Thurston Economic Development Council (EDC) published a landmark report outlining how to strengthen our local food economy (this report can still be found on their website). It called for preserving farmland, expanding food processing, improving coordination and developing critical infrastructure such as food hubs and distribution networks. That vision became our roadmap. Today, it is coming to life.
The Southwest Washington Growers Cooperative, formed in 2019, now includes more than 30 farmer and producer members. Its Food Hub, launched during COVID with a Department of Labor grant through PacMtn, aggregates and distributes food across several counties. It currently serves tribes, employers and nonprofits while opening new markets for local growers.
The co-op also operates the Southwest Washington Grain Project, the region’s first public grain storage and rail transloading facility. It helps mid-sized farms reach local processors and strengthen Washington’s grain economy. These efforts are not just economic development. They are community insurance policies.
At the heart of this regional work is the Agriculture Innovation Park in Tenino, a 13-acre public-private development dedicated to helping local agriculture thrive.
The park is home to:
• Colvin Ranch Provisions, offering beef and an ever-growing variety of 100 percent locally made food products.
• HOTBABE Hot Sauce, a local food manufacturer that sources peppers from regional farms through the Food Hub, is an incubator success story for a small, women- and minority-owned business.
