To Truly Fix Food System, the Farm Bill Should Restore Fair Markets

[marmar]

from Civil Eats:



To Truly Fix Food System, the Farm Bill Should Restore Fair Markets

June 12th, 2012
By Wenonah Hauter


The Farm Bill debate is currently in full-swing in the U.S. Senate this week. The sprawling legislation covers food stamps, subsidies, international food aid, research grants—it literally dictates what and how we eat. And right now, the Farm Bill gives all the power to the biggest food companies, which they wield with impunity over farmers and consumers. But an amendment to the bill–the Packer Ban, introduced by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Kent Conrad (D-North Dakota)–could begin to address this unfair advantage that giant food companies have over farmers.

A tiny number of corporations sit between fewer than a million full-time farmers and 300 million eaters. Only a handful of companies sell seeds and fertilizer to farmers, buy their crops and livestock, process the fruits of farmers’ labor into manufactured food, and sell it at a declining number of gigantic supermarket chains. Those that sell supplies and equipment charge farmers high prices. Meanwhile, the processors and meatpackers that buy from farmers pay low, and consumers see a smaller number of choices at often-higher prices at the grocery store.

The lack of competition is especially severe in livestock markets where, between 2000 and 2010, the United States lost 89,000 beef cattle operations (more than 10 percent) and 19,000 hog operations (about 20 percent). Just four companies dominate meat processing in the Unites States, controlling 80 percent of the marketplace. With few buyers, farmers rarely get a competitive price for their livestock. At the local level, there are often only one or two meatpackers buying livestock and often times both companies are represented by the same person, making it impossible for a farmer to negotiate a fair price.

Meatpackers increasingly own their own cattle in order to manipulate the market. The companies buy livestock on the open market when prices are low but slaughter their own livestock when bidding prices rise. This puts long-term, downward pressure on the price of livestock and allows meatpackers to manipulate what farmers and ranchers earn. These persistently low livestock prices effectively work to push small and medium-sized farmers out of business, while still leading to increased consumer food prices because large meatpackers don’t face enough competition to force them to pass on savings to consumers. .................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://civileats.com/2012/06/12/to-truly-fix-food-system-the-farm-bill-should-restore-fair-markets/

[4th law of robotics]

1. We really need to, among other things, end all subsidies to producers

if you want to cover the cost of food for poor people it should be exclusively on the consumption end and with strict regulations to avoid rewarding large food companies (ie an emphasis on unprocessed foods).

[ananda]

2. Fair Trade

NOT Free Trade.