Tag: land grant universities

Robber Barons Return – U.S. Becoming Beggar Nation


Mike Callicrate

As Big Food’s tentacles wind tighter around markets and governments, OCM fights on From seed to plate, a handful of global corporations have combined their power to extract unprecedented amounts of resources and wealth. Even Upton Sinclair* couldn’t have predicted that today our nation’s four largest meat packers would control over 85% of the market. Surely even he would be surprised to find the biggest companies in all three major meat categories— beef, pork, and poultry—now foreign owned! Read More …

Alternative Food Systems discussions rarely occur in Corporate Controlled Land Grant Universities

Mike Callicrate

In my experience in talking with students and groups of people outside the university is it that they are very eager to have meaningful give and take discussions on alternative food systems … that discussion rarely occurs in a Land Grant University setting. The Land Grant system was created 151 years ago intended for teaching, research and outreach and service for the middle class, for common people for working class … it had public interest orientation and was Read More …

Is OCM Irrelevant?

Mike Callicrate

September 4, 2012 By Mike Callicrate With much appreciation for the courageous leadership of our past president, Fred Stokes, I write my first message as OCM’s president. I recently asked Fred, “Is OCM irrelevant? How can there be competitive markets without competitors?” In his important and must-read book, Cornered, author Barry C. Lynn describes how every major industry is controlled by a few companies – cartels, shared monopolies and outright monopolies. Always considered one of the greatest threats Read More …