POLITICO | ‘Rome’s Burning’: Small Farmers Complain Biden Administration Is Fiddling as They Vanish
In our report card grading the administration’s efforts to increase food system competition and level the playing field for farmers, USDA got a “C.”
In our report card grading the administration’s efforts to increase food system competition and level the playing field for farmers, USDA got a “C.”
“It is unfortunate that it took a letter from Congress to shake USDA’s tree and get them to respond to the farmers they should be accountable to,” said Farm Action’s Angela Huffman.
The pork checkoff is supposed to work for the entire industry, but Farm Action’s Joe Maxwell says the research it funds only benefits the biggest companies.
Contracting with farmer-funded checkoffs gives lobbyists outsized influence, even though they “speak for a small minority of American farmers,” said Farm Action President Angela Huffman.
Dominant food and agriculture firms can “literally set the price as high as they want,” which has led to inflation, said Farm Action’s Joe Maxwell.
Farm Action and Open Markets Institute have released their latest report card assessing the Biden administration’s work to boost competition in agriculture.
Farm Action’s Joe Maxwell said the deal would give Bunge control over ports and grain terminals, and could create bottlenecks in the agricultural supply chain.
Farm Action’s Joe Maxwell and Sarah Carden feature in this series on how chemical fertilizers have changed agriculture — harming communities, farmers, and the planet along the way.
Farm Action is “leading the charge” to reshape the farm bill so that it prioritizes the production of food for people — instead of feed for corporate-controlled livestock.
So few firms control so much of our food system that “the basic supply and demand market dynamics cannot function,” said Farm Action’s Joe Maxwell. And now consumers are paying the price.