farmers seek justice in the heartland

March 23, 2010 in Essays & Articles

via the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

We are thrilled to feature this blog post written by Kristina Hubbard, board member of NSAC member group, the Alternative Energy Resources Organization (AERO).  Kiki attended the first in a series of hearings sponsored by the USDA and Department of Justice about concentration in the agriculture industry.  Kiki is the author of a recent report, Out of Hand: Farmers Face the Consequences of a Consolidated Seed Industry.

“We’ve waited a long time for justice in the heartland.”

- Wes Shoemyer, Missouri Farmer and State Senator

Last Friday approximately 800 people gathered in Ankeny, Iowa, for the first in a series of workshops hosted by the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Agriculture (USDA) on competition in agriculture.  The meeting followed an outpouring of 15,000 public comments on the topic.  (It’s an open docket, so there’s still time to weigh in by emailing agriculturalworkshops@usdoj.gov.)

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder delivered opening remarks for the “milestone event,” saying, “I don’t use milestone lightly.  Not once have our Departments of Justice and Agriculture come together to discuss regulatory issues in this industry.”  He encouraged the audience “to be as frank as you can be, understanding that we’re going to be receptive to that dialogue.”  This remark was followed by someone in the audience yelling, “When?”

read the full post HERE

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