(L to r) Rhonda Perry (Missouri Rural Crisis Center), John Bergdoll, Patty Lovera (Food & Water Watch, Washington D.C.), and Andrew Kimbrell (Center for Food Safety, Washington D.C.)

“Our food system is broken. The controlling strong arm of big business is forcing American farmers to comply with the mantra, ’Get big or get out,’” commented Patty Lovera of Food & Water Watch, Washington D.C. “It has really become the US Department of Agribusiness, not Agriculture.”

At the center of the issue is the economics, ethics, and social responsibility of big business pressuring farmers to use growth hormones on cows to pump more milk and their complete control of genetically modified seeds in the marketplace. As Lovera points out, “We don’t need it and there are many negative effects to these practices.” It’s an issue that’s been ignored for too long.

“Despite opposition from scientists, farmers and consumers, the US currently allows dairy cows to be injected with recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH), also known as recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST). Developed and manufactured by the Monsanto Corporation, this genetically engineered hormone forces cows to artificially increase milk production by 10 to 15 percent. Today, controversy still surrounds whether or not rBGH is safe for cows and humans.

According to opponents of the drug, effects of rBGH were never properly studied. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) relied solely on one study administered by Monsanto in which rBGH was tested for 90 days on 30 rats. The study was never published, and the FDA stated the results showed no significant problems.

The FDA continues to assure consumers that rBGH is safe for cows and humans, despite evidence to the contrary. In 1994, the FDA prohibited dairies from claiming there was any difference between milk from rBGH-injected cows and milk produced without the artificial hormone.”1 Lovera insists, “Consumers have the right to know and farmers have the right and obligation to tell you.”

“Cows forced to produce unnaturally high quantities of milk can become malnourished because they lose more nutrients through their milk than they ingest in their feed, and are therefore more susceptible to disease. In addition to artificial hormones, factory farms also use such methods as selective breeding; feeding dairy cows large amounts of grain (instead of grass), and exposing cows to longer periods of artificial light to make them produce more milk.”2 Consequently, cows put under large amounts of stress do not live as long as cows that are not stressed.

Farm Bill 2012
“We need these markets to be fair for those buying and producing the food. Farmers are not asking for handouts, they only seek competition in agriculture” explains Lovera. There are four giant companies that control everything in our industrialized food industry. Government is very involved in agriculture but big business wields its powerful influence.

“The reason we have crappy food is because we (consumers) don’t get a chance to decide,” says Patty. As Rhonda Perry of the Missouri Rural Crisis Center points out, “The U.S. government could do something now if they would start enforcing the Antitrust Laws already on the books. It’s time for our Food Bills to tackle this issue.”

Corporation farming
Farmer profits are squeezed as farmers are forced to abide by corporation rules of greater production, more equipment and supplies. If farmers can’t keep up with the corporate demands they are cut loose from the supply chain. The gap in consumers’ prices and farmer shares continue to widen while corporations are profiting.

Who controls the seeds of the earth?
There was a time when farmers would determine the best seeds to save for future plantings, but that has changed. Now, corporations call the shots and farmers can no longer save the seeds. In fact, “If you save your seeds, you will be prosecuted,” explains Andrew Kimbrell, Center for Food Safety. “Seeds are now a commodity and sold back to the farmers. Corporations have complete control of seeds of the earth.”

In 1985, President Reagan exacerbated the problem when he wrote into law that plants could be patented. It opened the doors to an enormity of hybrid crops. Chemical companies now own all the seeds. Monsanto owns about 49% of all seeds. They also control the herbicides. Corporation lobbyists with deep pockets use their resources to outspend and outlast opposition. One example is how they drag out the labeling issue by arguing about the font size of milk labels with rBGH hoping to wear down resistance and financial resources.

Technology treadmill
“American farmers have been stuck on a technology treadmill for 80 years since WWII; the situation is catastrophic. Only 4.3% of our population, 175,000 farmers, is shouldering the responsibility of growing our food,” explains Kimbrell. There is an increase in food supply and prices are lower, yet farmers are not making fair wages. Industrialized farming and genetically engineered crops has created a demand for more herbicides, fertilizer, and uses ammonia-based soil instead of topsoil. Big business is making greater profits, farmers are going out of business, and our food supply has deteriorated. On a more optimistic note, there is a new burgeoning trend in organic farming.

Giving to Those in Need
My naiveté in global affairs revealed itself as I became distressed and despondent to learn that there are ‘strings attached’ when countries, including the U.S., ‘give grain’ to countries in need. ‘Giving grain’ is a noble gesture, but the grimy truth is that there are stipulations. At a time of critical need when countries are vulnerable, big businesses step in and make short-term deals that have long-term consequences, often creating a dependency. Coffee beans, for example, might be given when wheat is what’s needed. Assigned ‘grain gifts’ often serve self-interests, disrupt the local growth patterns, and don’t always help to feed the intended people.

The fallout of businesses stepping in is that it creates a dependency of chemicals, herbicides, fertilizers, and limited growth seeds. It becomes a vicious cycle of dependency leading to poverty and starvation. Adding to the disarray is the uncomfortable burden it places on farmers because farmers have taken on the moral obligation that they must ‘feed the world.’

Battle in Africa
Africa is savvy to the risks of food industrialization … at least for now. In fact, it is a felony to grow crops for fuel and not food. Africa is a huge market that has thus far not been commoditized. Big business has not been able to penetrate it so the big companies try to make inroads by selling chemicals.

Importing Our Food
Why are we importing food that we could be growing here? Are supermarkets being socially responsible when they sell produce from all over the world while ignoring local farmers and incurring a global carbon footprint of transportation? Are we able to learn to eat seasonally and get back in touch with nature’s abundance? Imported food comes at an environmental cost not readily apparent.

1. Sustainable Table, rbgh, A program of Grace, http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/rbgh, Feb 26, 2010.
2. Ibid.

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