Taking on Corporate Meatpackers:

What we can do to pass the packer ban
and take back the livestock markets.

Guest Speaker: Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch
September 9, 2003 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Kelly Inn, St. Paul, MN

You’re invited to the Land Stewardship Project’s Taking on Corporate Meatpackers meeting at the Kelly Inn in St. Paul on September 9 (directions below). The meeting will begin at 11:00 a.m. and end at 1:00 p.m.

Corporate meatpackers are continuing to consolidate at the expense of family farmers and rural communities. We need to put pressure on Congress to take swift, decisive action to reestablish markets that are competitive and fair. The focus of the meeting will be to develop a plan to pass a ban on meatpackers owning livestock and other policies that will limit corporate meatpackers’ control over markets.

Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch will be there for part of the meeting to talk about what his office is doing to hold meatpacking corporations accountable to Minnesota’s farm and rural communities. Hatch met with LSP members on July 31 to discuss the proposed Smithfield Foods purchase of Farmland Industries’ hog production and processing facilities. At the July 31 meeting, Hatch agreed to take action on behalf of Minnesota hog farmers to stop the buyout from going through and endorsed a federal ban on meatpackers owning livestock.

The Land Stewardship Project and the Campaign for Family Farms are working to stop the buyout because it would greatly increase Smithfield’s already powerful hold on the hog market. While we are working to derail this buyout, we know we need to work for a long-term solution to stop the corporate takeover of the livestock industry. The first step is banning meatpackers from owning livestock.

Passing a federal ban on meatpackers owning livestock is possible. We have the overwhelming support of farmers, the backing of grassroots farm and rural organizations across the country, and key allies in Congress like Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Mark Dayton (D-MN), Mike Enzi (R-WY), and Tim Johnson (D-SD) – but ultimately it is up to us to get this bill passed.

We need to get Minnesota’s members of Congress to sign on as co-sponsors to the packer ban bills that have been introduced in both houses of Congress. Right now, Senator Dayton is the only packer ban co-sponsor from Minnesota. Senator Coleman (R-MN), Rep. Peterson (D-MN), and Rep. Gutknecht (R-MN) have not even said that they support banning corporate meatpacker ownership of livestock. Along with Senator Dayton, all three serve on Congressional ag committees, so it is doubly important that they co-sponsor the packer ban.

Getting their support for the packer ban will not be easy. The meatpackers and commodity groups like the National Pork Producers Council and National Cattlemens’ Beef Association are fighting tooth and nail to stop the packer ban from becoming law. To counter their money and insider influence we need to make the packer ban a high-profile issue that politicians cannot afford to oppose. At the meeting we’ll lay out a strategy to make this happen, get your input, and sign up people to take specific action. We hope to see you on September 9.

DIRECTIONS

Kelly Inn
161 St. Anthony Avenue
St. Paul, Minnesota, 55103
Phone: 651-227-8711

Heading North on Interstate 35E: take 35E north to the Kellogg Boulevard exit. Go north (left turn) on Kellogg. Take Kellogg across I-94 and turn right at the Sweetwater Grille sign on the east side of the street and park. (The Sweetwater grill is located inside the Kelly Inn).

From Interstate 94: Take I-94 to Marion Street exit. Go North on Marion Street. Turn right at the Sweetwater Grille sign on the east side of the street and park (the Sweetwater Grille is located inside the Kelly Inn).

If you want more information about the meeting, give us a call! Land Stewardship Project 612-722-6377