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Take Action Against Corporate Consolidation!
Call your Senator TODAY and tell them to: 1. Support a comprehensive competition title, which works to restore basic fairness in agriculture marketing and pricing systems. Oppose anything that would weaken the Competition Title, including imposter competition titles proposed by large agribusiness. 2. Support the Wellstone amendment to ban meatpacker ownership and feeding of livestock, and to restrict packers' use of captive supplies to manipulate prices. This is key. Packers use direct ownership and/or long-term secret contracts on hogs, cattle, and sheep to force independent producers (like many LSP farmer members) to take lower prices for the livestock they market. In recent years, companies like Smithfield, Cargill, Hormel, and Tyson have moved into factory farm livestock production in a big way, in a blatant attempt to eliminate family farms from the livestock industry. Ultimately, after years of manipulated low prices and restricted market access, many family farmers stop raising livestock, despite being the most efficient livestock producers in terms of cost of production - and the most environmentally sound producers. The goal of the major agribusiness corporations is a fully integrated food industry which they control from factory farm production to irradiated food on the supermarket shelf. 3. Terminate the mandatory pork checkoff tax, which the nation's hog farmers voted down in a lawful national referendum conducted by the USDA last year. LSP played a major role in that campaign. Tell your Senators NOT TO SUPPORT ANY NEW REFERENDUM ON THE PORK TAX. The only reason the powers that be want another vote is because family farmers won the first one! We had the vote fair and square (actually, agribusiness outspent family farmers 40 to 1 on the referendum, trying to get a "yes" vote). Hog farmers voted to end the pork tax, which fuels factory farm expansion and corporate control. Tell your Senators to stand up for democracy, honor the vote, and terminate the pork tax. PLEASE CALL TODAY! Call your Senator(s) at the number below. Ask to speak with the legislative aide who handles agriculture. If you get voice mail, leave a short message. If you're in Iowa, please thank Senator Harkin and his staff for leadership on the Competition Title and urge him to support the Wellstone amendment.
If possible, please take a minute to send us an e-mail at marks@landstewardshipproject.org to let us know what kind of response you received.
Increasing corporate control of our agriculture and food system has a profound impact on: the quality and safety of our food; the well-being of farm and ranch communities; the survival of family farms; the treatment of agricultural workers; the treatment of farm animals; and virtually all aspects of environmental quality and land stewardship. To see the Harkin competition title go to http://harkin.senate.gov/agriculture/farm-bill-summary.cfm Thank you for taking action! * Who is opposing the Harkin Competition Title? The following organizations have signed a joint letter adamantly opposing the Harkin Competition Title. It's a veritable who's-who list of those concentrating our food and agriculture system, and they wouldn't have it any other way. We can win this fight, and they know it! Take action TODAY! National
Cattlemen's Beef Association |
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