The American Meat Institute (AMI) Board of Directors on April 2 voted to proceed with a merger with the North American Meat Association (NAMA). The vote is the second of three steps necessary to finalize a merger that would occur January 1, 2015, if approved.
Later in April, the institute's general members will vote on whether to proceed with the NAMA and AMI merger. NAMA's board voted March 22 to proceed with the meat association merger.
If AMI's general members vote to proceed, a transition committee drawn from both associations will be established to map a plan to merge association operations by the end of 2014.
"The board's vote to proceed with a merger is a positive development," said AMI Chairman Greg Benedict, chief operating officer and president of American Foods Group, who serves on the merger committee. "We look forward to our general member vote in the coming weeks."
