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Food Movement Needed! Corporate Agribusiness Fights GIPSA

by: Brad Wilson

Sun Nov 21, 2010 at 21:43:45 PM PST

A major fight is waging over attempts to implement some moderate regulations against corporate domination of the livestock industry. Industry groups are all over the media. Iowa Farmer Today had op-eds the last 2 weeks, from the National Pork Producers Council and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. The Gazette, (Cedar Rapids, IA) had an op-ed today from a group doing research for the American Meat Institute to try to defeat the bill.

(For more on the American Meat Institute, see my diary here: "Do you support the 'Farm Coalition Group.'" They've long been a cheap corn group. Click on my name.)

This is a huge issue where we need the food movement do quickly mobilize 100,000 supporters.

Brad Wilson :: Food Movement Needed! Corporate Agribusiness Fights GIPSA

There is great analysis of why GIPSA improvements are good for farmers in various places.

R-Calf, a great livestock group, has a YouTube video, fact sheet and other materials at their site.

Here are some examples of the spin.

Another D.C. idea Iowa can't afford
21 November 2010 | 2:10 pm Gazette Guest Columnists
By John Dunham
ohn Dunham, president of John Dunham & Associates, specializes in the economics of how public policy issues affect products and services. His research has been published in a number of refereed journals including Economic Inquiry. Comments: jrd@guerrilla
http://thegazette.com/2010/11/...

(In fact, of course, it's a grassroots livestock idea idea. Dunham represents the huge corporate lobbyists inside the beltway in DC.

Proposed GIPSA rule ends up pitting livestock producers against each otherBy Gregg Doud
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 1:31 PM CDT
Gregg Doud, is chief economist for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
http://www.iowafarmertoday.com...

It gives family farmers some tools to defend themselves against exploitation by packers and giant CAFOs.

GIPSA regulation would mean fewer jobs in livestock industry, pricier meat
Thursday, November 18, 2010 8:36 AM CST
From the National Pork Producers Council
http://www.iowafarmertoday.com...

Of course, we've heard all of this fear talk, over and over before. Most Iowa hog farmers voted against NPPC (60.2%) because of their support for the packers against farmers, and such.

Of course, we know now that the research on CAFOs shows that they damaged our economy, as John Ikerd has shown (59 studies, no question about the results). They didn't add jobs, we lost 3 independent farmers for each job created (Ikerd).

Read more at the Western Organization of Resource Councils, (members of nffc.net,) family farmers in states all across the West: http://www.worc.org/Unduepref/

Read more at R-Calf, one of the newer (ie pro-family farmer, anti-concentration) livestock groups: http://www.r-calfusa.com/Compe...

This is a major fight against corporate food. We spoke out at the antitrust hearings. We fought to get a Livestock (Concentration) Title. We fought to get action on regs with some meat on them from the Obama administration. Now we must finish the job.