Control of our food system is a contentious struggle where multilateral free-trade agreements and transnational corporate profits are at odds with family farmers' interests, community food security, land stewardship and animal husbandry, and consumers’ access to a healthy, environmentally sound food supply. In the absence of strong civic participation, agribusiness and large-scale commodity organizations have been dictating farm policy. The results of these corporate-led policies are proving to be disastrous:
At the same time, the growing economic and political power of agribusiness is well documented. Monsanto owns most of the soybean and cotton seed suppliers in the United States, DuPont has bought the world’s largest corn seed company (Pioneer), and Cargill is buying Continental’s grain operations. In the livestock industry, four large firms in each sector are slaughtering four out of five beef cattle, three out of four sheep, three out of five hogs, and half of all chickens. Ninety-five percent of all chickens grown in the United States are grown under contract with large corporations, and the trend is spreading rapidly through other parts of agriculture. The time has come for a broad coalition effort, to help create food policies that are healthy for consumers and the environment and profitable for producers, workers, and the communities that depend on them. But in this age of agribusiness power and concentration we must recognize that farmers and rural people have thus far been unable to bring about responsible agricultural policies. They must begin now to form strong alliances with non-farm groups concerned with questions of environmental protection, sustainable economic development and food quality and safety. In order to create food policies to establish food systems that are economically and ecologically sustainable and socially just, a broad spectrum of civil society needs to be actively involved in food policy debate and development. By bringing farm groups together with consumers, workers and environmentalists, we can be instrumental in shifting farm policy that is dictated by short-term agribusiness interests into food policy that is sustainable for all of society and the environment. Only through broad participation will we be able to build a food system that is safe, healthy, economically and ecologically sustainable, socially just and builds community. Only by addressing the agencies and agreements where farm and food policy is truly made will we create a regulatory structure that effectively responds to and supports consumers, labor and farmers. As the labor movement is beginning to understand, international understanding and solidarity among food system constituents around the world is key to analyzing the impacts of international trade and agriculture policies globally. This analysis provides the basis for support and action. There is no reason so many millions of us, with such enormous economic and political potential, should stand idly by as a handful of powerful agribusiness interests fashion legislation that has led us down the road of food safety concerns, failing rural communities, environmental degradation, and declining farm profitability. It is time for a change. We recognize that farmers need powerful allies to advance their cause. Formulating new food and agricultural policies in isolation cannot form these alliances. Instead, we must find ways to bring different groups to the table, on equal footing with farmers, in a process that respects the interests of all concerned. Niel Ritchie is the National Organizer for Food and Agriculture Policy at the Minneapolis-based Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. He can be reached at nritchie@iatp.org.
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