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  • From: Leigh Hauter <lh AT pressroom.com>
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Market-farming] family farms and the future
  • Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 08:14:47 -0500

Here is an editorial to stimulate late winter thought.



Farm News from Cropchoice
An alternative news service for American farmers
http://www.cropchoice.com



2/19/2003
Carrying the torch for the corporate cadre
-------------------------------------------

by Robert Schubert

CropChoice editor

(Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2003 -- CropChoice commentary) -- Robert Zoellick is
at it again. Our trusted trade representative says China is simply not
honoring its commitments to the World Trade Organization.

Zoellick seems surprised that China won't dismantle its domestic policies
that protect family farmers. It's a similar story in India, Brazil and the
European Union. In his view, such policies distort free trade.



It's different here in the good old US of A. President after president
and Congress after Congress, both Democrat and Republican, have whittled
away U.S. farm programs in the name of free trade, efficiency, or whatever
term sounds good. In reality it's all about sticking the boot on the
necks of family farmers to guarantee maximum profit for a transnational
corporate cadre. That means charging farmers the maximum for seeds and
fertilizers, paying them as little as possible for the crops they grow
with those inputs, and then selling the final food product to the consumer
for the maximum price.

No surprise many farmers are broke or nearly broke. It's basically damage
control in farm country. That means hush money: the welfare-style income
support that's keeping farmers quiet while they're put out to pasture,
permanently.

The message to the American farmer is "lower your price, produce for less,
get big or get out." They've complied for decades. They're farming more
and more land and producing more and more homogenous commodity crops that
the transnational companies can neatly process, package and ship anywhere
and everywhere. In this the latest stage of global, industrial
agriculture, farmers are planting genetically modified crops that allow
them to work even more land with less effort so that they can go to town
to get a job because Monsanto charged them an arm and a leg for the seed,
and Cargill pays them less for the crop than it costs to produce. A
rather nice arrangement for the corporations.

Although U.S. farmers have been going broke lowering their production
costs, Chinese farmers can produce for less. But not cheap enough.
That's why Zoellick wants China to scrap any and all programs that protect
its farmers. Then the raw materials would cost even less for the traders
and processors who export to and import from all countries the world
over. Remember, buy low -- even if you have to steal it -- and sell
high.

It didn't used to be this way.

Prior to the 1985 farm bill, price supports for farmers were based on the
market. They established a price floor to give farmers some bargaining
power. These "loan rates" worked much like the minimum wage. The
government mandated that the companies buying the farmers' grain or
livestock pay them a price at least equal to the cost of producing it.
However, the farmers often received more. In those days before rampant
corporate concentration, more buyers in the marketplace meant the producer
prices were bid upward. The farmers actually made money. Quite a
concept.

But things grew progressively worse. They reached the really bad stage in
1996 when Congress hatched Freedom to Farm. It axed the market-based loan
rates and replaced them with taxpayer-subsidized price supports. Now,
Cargill and Crew don't have the government telling them they must pay
farmers a minimum price, or "wage," for the crops. What's more, the
constantly merging traders and processors connive and collude to
manipulate the prices downward. As a result, farmers often receive far
less than their cost of production. The taxpayer is left to make up the
difference between what the farmers were paid and a level, or loan rate,
determined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

This can't continue, and our leaders know it. On one side are the
taxpayers, most of whom have no idea what's really happening with
agriculture, who question why they're subsidizing farmers. On the other
side are countries like Brazil and China rightly insisting that they will
not discontinue their domestic farm programs until we do.



At the anointed time it will happen. All that farmers will hear from the
distant halls of Congress and the USDA is a faint "sorry." The farm
programs will be gone. There'll be no more hush money. Farmers will
leave the land in droves. Those who remain will farm, under contract,
tens of thousands of acres of patented corn, soybeans, wheat and other
commodity crops.

Meanwhile, with their global path largely cleared, Cargill, ConAgra,
Monsanto, ADM, and a few others will be grinding down farmers in India,
Brazil, China and everywhere. They're always looking to pay farmers a
lower price for raw materials. It's a race to the bottom.

There's a word for it: Serfdom.

And to those who think they can just run to Wild Oats or Whole Foods and
buy some organic food, think again. The big national and transnational
corporations have and are buying small organic food companies.



What are some of the answers?



First, bring back comprehensive, family farmer friendly policies,
including and especially market-based price supports at the federal level.
Along with that, local, state and national governments must encourage
local and regional organic food production, distribution and sales.

Second, tear down the World Trade Organization and the North American Free
Trade Agreement, and dispense with this Free Trade of the Americas talk.
Replace them with nothing or with FAIR trade agreements.

Finally, revoke the personhood rights of corporations. Return them to
their pre-1886 days when they had only privileges, no rights. For more on
that, go to:

Americans revolt in Pennsylvania: New battle lines are drawn;
http://www.cropchoice.com/leadstry.asp?recid=1271


Program on Corporations, Law and Democracy, http://www.poclad.org


http://www.reclaimdemocracy.org

Editor's note: The next time you hear about the World Bank chipping in the
bucks to build or improve infrastructure (e.g., a port or a wider river
for barge traffic) in some faraway place, think about who benefits.
Transnational agribusinesses that export to and import from the same
countries around the world should come to mind.


-------------------------------------------
This story sent to you from Cropchoice.com by user request. Visit
http://www.cropchoice.com for more information. May be reproduced freely
for non-commercial purposes and with appropriate credit.
From kampy AT grm.net Wed Feb 19 08:41:25 2003
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From: "Marie Kamphefner" <kampy AT grm.net>
To: "'Market Farming'" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: RE: [Market-farming] Okra
Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 07:42:43 -0600
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Regards to the list:

Send me a map!!! :-) It sure does sound good Rick. I printed that off
and plan to try it when the okra is ready. Thanks!

Marie in Missouri


Marie,

Come on down, I'll fix you the real thing. If you don't feel like the
drive, here is my recipe.

Rick H.






  • [Market-farming] family farms and the future, Leigh Hauter, 02/19/2003

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