End corporate abuse
in our food!

Stand with farmers today!

It may be hard to believe, but the story behind the milk your children drink or the ice cream they eat this summer is more murky than the scandals that have rocked Wall Street in the past several years. In fact, speaking about an investigation into dairy price fixing during the George W.Bush administration, one DOJ official said the dairy industry was “more corrupt than Enron.”¹

In a sense, the situation can be boiled down to two words: monopoly and greed. And because of that, when farmers lose, we all lose. It's time to tell our government enough is enough; we can't afford any more corporate greed. Our farmers mean too much.

Today in Madison, Wisconsin dairy farmers from across America are coming together² to tell stories of price manipulation, antitrust violations and more, that have ultimately led to the loss of their herds, their farms, their livelihoods and in some cases even their own lives.

It's time to take on corporate power in our food supply. Stand with farmers today to tell the Department of Justice that enough is enough.

For the past 18 months America’s dairy farmers have faced their worst crisis since the Great Depression³ while at the same time, giant dairy processors and co-ops have raked in record profits.

While dairy farmers have suffered historic low prices in 2009, their dairy processors and the “farmer-owned” co-ops that are supposed to offer them a fair price, have been skimming off all the profits. In 2009, Dean Foods profits soared to $76.2 million, more than 254% higher than 2008.⁴ During this same time, farmers have been taking on record debt, with a 100 head dairy farm losing more than $10,000 per month on average.⁵

Countless pleas for justice and numerous attempts to remedy the situation have failed.

Why?

Much of this inequity in the dairy industry can be traced directly to the excessive consolidation in the sector, which has bred the same type of corruption that we have recently witnessed in many other sectors of our economy and society.⁶

This hearing in Madison will deal with antitrust violations in the dairy industry and hundreds of dairy farmers are rallying there and across the country for a solution. But time is running out for many dairy farmers as they are being crushed under a burden of mounting monthly debt with no end in sight. Many can no longer hold on.

They need you TODAY to tell the Department of Justice that we will no longer tolerate corruption at the hands of corporate power. Lobbyists are hard at work on a daily basis telling a very different story. Today our voice needs to be louder. Won’t you use your voice today? It only takes a moment.

Then please tell your friends and join us over at FightBigFood.org as we challenge corporate power for America’s farmers, families and the future of our food.

Thank for your creating food democracy today –

Dave, Lisa and The Food Democracy Now! Team

We need to keep the pressure on! Please consider donating to Food Democracy Now today – whether it’s $5 or $50. We rely on folks like you to keep us going. Thank you!

Sources:

1.  John Kinsman and Joel Greeno: Unfair milk prices are destroying dairy farmers, June 18, 2010, The Cap Times
http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/172?akid=154.55727._X5uAX&t=13

2.  Agenda for Department of Justice – U.S. Department of Agriculture Joint Workshop on Competition Issues in the Dairy Industry, Madison, Wisconsin, June 25, 2010, Department of Justice website
http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/164?ak_proof=1&akid=.53192.qvb9ah&t=15&ak_proof=1&t=10&akid=154.55727._X5uAX

3. "Stand up for Rural America While You Still Can”, Grist.org, June 16, 2009
http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/163?ak_proof=1&akid=.53192.qvb9ah&t=13&akid=154.55727._X5uAX&t=17

4. “Dairy Farmers Sue Dean Foods”, Vermont Press Bureau, October 10, 2009
http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/165?ak_proof=1&akid=.53192.qvb9ah&t=17&akid=154.55727._X5uAX&t=19

5. “Dairy Processors Profits “Legal Steal”, Some Say”, The-Daily-Record.com, September 24, 2009
http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/166?ak_proof=1&akid=.53192.qvb9ah&t=19&akid=154.55727._X5uAX&t=21

6. “Independent Farmers Feel Squeezed By Milk Cartel”, National Public Radio, August 20, 2009
http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/167?ak_proof=1&akid=.53192.qvb9ah&t=21&akid=154.55727._X5uAX&t=23