Corporate Agribusiness: “Shocking But True”
Today
came a bunch of stories that I could only label “shocking but true”, so
I put together three of them in this little post of horrors…
Tomato Profiteering
Remember that massive tomato shortage? According to Florida farmers, it's over.
After
scrambling to keep the nation supplied with fresh tomatoes following
last year's hurricane season, Florida farmers face a glut so large that
tomatoes are rotting in the fields, and thousands of pickers and
packers have been forced out of work.
Florida
Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson toured two Homestead fields
Tuesday, promising to launch a national campaign to let consumers and
retailers know that the shortage is over.
“I've never seen this type of top quality tomatoes still hanging on the vines,” Bronson said. “It's just shocking.”
In
the past two weeks, an estimated 60 million pounds of tomatoes have
been abandoned. One of the nation's top tomato growers predicted the
industry has lost as much as $40 million. Although prices have slowly
come down at some retailers, others continue to charge the same as they
did during the shortage. Bronson said he's not blaming retailers.
“I
don't know that retailers are being told the whole truth,” Bronson
said. “Consumers need to know we have plenty of tomatoes because when
they do, they can demand lower prices.”
Crushing Labor the Old-Fashioned Way
Another
important (and in this political climate, mildly surprising) item came
over the newswire this past week: a National Labor Relations
Board panel found Smithfield (the largest hog owner in the United
States) engaged in an extensive illegal campaign to stop unionization of packing plants.
The
actions that Smithfield took to stop the union campaign read something
like a Dickens novel – yet it happened in the past 10 years:
* Smithfield managers conspired with the local Sheriff Department to physically intimidate and assault union supporters.
*
Sheriff deputies — in riot gear and heavily armed — stationed
themselves at the entrance to the plant on days that civil rights
leader Reverend Jesse Jackson and other religious leaders handed out
literature with workers.
*
The company planned and instigated a “riot” following the vote count in
1997 that led to false arrests of a union supporter.
* Smithfield held forced meetings to intimidate and threaten workers for supporting the union.
*
Smithfield paid workers above their normal rate to spy on co-workers
and turn in union supporters to management consultants.
*
Smithfield forced a management employee produce false statements to the
Board in an attempt to cover-up anti-union activity.
* Smithfield also threatened to close the plant if the workers chose a union.
* The Board found Smithfield guilty of illegally firing ten workers during the two campaigns.
Protecting Farmers From Lawsuits
Okay, it's not all bad news…
Monsanto
was singled out by Montana Senate Majority Leader as targeting farmers
for lawsuits. Monsanto has been suing farmers for well over a
decade, but the Montana Democrats are the first to try and protect
indivudual farmers against predatory lawsuits. (Click here for details.)
A
study released today by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Food
Safety meticulously documents one biotech company's use of U.S. patent
laws to control staple crop seeds.
The
report follows the introduction of the Farmer Protection Act at the
2005 Montana Legislature. Sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Jon
Tester (Dem.-Big Sandy), the Farmer Protection Act would shield Montana
wheat farmers from unfair lawsuits like those described in the report.
A hearing on the bill will take place on February 4th before the Senate
Judiciary Committee.
KEY FINDINGS:
*
To date, Monsanto Corp. has filed 90 lawsuits in 25 states involving
147 American farmers and 39 small businesses or farm companies.
*
Monsanto has set aside an annual budget of $10 million and 75 full-time
staff devoted solely to investigating and prosecuting farmers.
* The largest recorded judgment favorable to Monsanto documented by the report was $3,052,800
* Monsanto has received $15,253,602.82 in total recorded judgments to date.
According
to the report, Monsanto's efforts to prosecute farmers fall into three
categories: investigations of farmers; out-of-court settlements; and
litigation against farmers accused of patent infringement or “breach of
contract.”
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