Issues with Corporate Farming

I read an article (How Organic ‘Micro-Farms’ Are Changing Our Food Supply) recently in which Christina Sarich made the case for small organic farms, urban farms, and even micro farms (smaller scale farming) importance within the food system. In the article, she lists a number of issues that come along with big, corporate farms that I’d like to share here.

• Biotech leads the way with issues that affect our food supply on a global scale. While they have promised higher yields and efficient distribution systems, they have given us instead, disease-causing foods, environmentally damaging pesticides and herbicides, and corporate dominancy of the entire farming practice by monopolizing seed markets.
• Big Ag farming concentrates the market-share among a small handful of companies, removing price discipline along the supply chain through vertical integration, resulting in uncompetitive markets that ultimately hurt consumers and farmers equally.
• Big Ag creates environmental disaster through GM variety crops, namely through excessive pesticide use, soil erosion, monoculture, and the concentration of animal waste. The USDA estimates that over 335 million tons of “dry matter” waste (the portion of waste remaining after water is removed) is produced annually on farms in the United States, representing almost a third of the total municipal and industrial waste produced annually.
• Big Ag farming models threaten the intellectual property rights of local and organic producers via biopiracy and the patenting of indigenous crop varieties, while cross-pollination of non-GM crops can scarcely be avoided.
• Big Ag puts the small farmer out of business – ON YOUR TAX DOLLAR. In developing countries, millions of people rely on farming as a means to support themselves and their families, yet they increasingly find they cannot compete with million–dollar trade deals and the subsidies which give land-rights to corporations instead of the small farmer.“According to the Wall Street Journal, between 2005 and 2008, taxpayers provided fossil fuel producers–oil, coal, and gas companies–$72.5 billion dollars in subsidies and tax breaks. During the same period taxpayers subsidized “alternative” fuel producers to the tune of $29 billion dollars–$16 billon of that for ethanol.”What did small farmers get in subsidies to grow healthy, non-toxic food? I’ll give you a hint – it doesn’t end in lots of zeros, or the word ‘billion.’
• Big Ag farming gives lobbyists control over our food supply. The American Farm Bureau Federation – just one of the many politically savvy groups determining the outcomes of our food on Capital Hill – has spent more than $2.6 million with 37 lobbyists actively pushing the Big Ag model along with biotech. Others with big influence include the Grocery Manufacturer’s Association, the National Cattleman’s Beef Association, the National Pork Producers Council, the National Milk Producers Federation, the National Corn Growers Association, and more.
• Agribusiness is given privileged access to international trade agreements and exporting, often at the expense of local, small-scale, sustainable growers.