Media

New Report Details Challenges Facing Ohio Family Farmers

OCM Staff

Columbus, OH – Today, in a joint briefing with Family Farm Action, the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) released a report outlining the dire state of Ohio family farmers and rural communities under pressure from the growth of global agriculture corporate giants. Agribusiness firms that control inputs such as seed and chemicals and meat processing have seen extreme consolidation in recent years, to the point of creating near monopolies. As a result, family farmers, once the economic engine Read More …

Policy Brief | State Series: Consolidation and the American Family Farm – Ohio

OCM Staff

Consolidation and globalization in the agriculture sector have serious implications for Ohio’s family farmers, ranchers, and rural communities. Concentration of corporate power in agriculture has risen to levels not seen since the Gilded Age, allowing multinational agribusiness interests to exert growing influence over policy and programs. Corporate concentration has left little competition and fewer opportunities for the state’s next generation of farmers and ranchers, while extracting wealth out of local economies. As the economic backbone of rural communities, Read More …

Iowa Public Radio | Some Iowa Farmers See Source of Help in New Jersey Senator’s Anti-Mergers Bill

OCM Staff

Iowa Public Radio By Amy Mayer Independent farmers who question the consolidation of farming are finding support from an unexpected ally. New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker has introduced a bill calling for an 18-month moratorium on mergers and acquisitions in the food and agribusiness sector. North Iowa farmer Chris Petersen says most farmers don’t get any benefits when the large seed and chemical companies pair-up. During several recent marriages, the companies suggested prices for their products would come Read More …

The Atlantic | The Rise of the Zombie Small Businesses

OCM Staff

The Atlantic By Annie Lowrey Imagine the farm that raised the chicken that produced the meat that sits in your sandwich: a few workers, thousands of birds, tens of thousands of pounds of white and dark meat, work that starts before dawn and ends after dusk, uncertain revenue, slim profits. There are thousands of these small farms in the United States, and they benefit from millions of dollars of taxpayer support each year. Chicken is America’s favorite protein, after all. Family Read More …

Nationwide Campaign Calls on Aramark, Compass Group, and Sodexo to Reform Unjust Business Practices, Invest in Real Food

OCM Staff

Diverse coalition launches campaign to transform business practices in the food service management industry The Community Coalition for Real Meals launched a nationwide campaign today urging the country’s three largest food service management companies  – Aramark, Compass Group, and Sodexo – to reorient their business models away from a system of exclusive relationships with Big Food corporations toward greater investments in Real Food that supports producers, communities, and the environment. The Coalition includes the Domestic Fair Trade Association, Fair Read More …

Brownfield Ag News | New Legislation Would Limit Mergers and Acquisitions

OCM Staff

Brownfield Ag News By Larry Lee The leader of the Organization for Competitive Markets tells Brownfield they are getting more support from other groups for a bill that would block any future agribusiness mergers and acquisitions.  Joe Maxwell tells Brownfield, “It’s time to put a stop, hit the pause button on these mega-mergers until the Congress can take a look and see what we need to do in this country to give a fair opportunity for family farmers.” Maxwell says Read More …

The New Food Economy | A Handful of Companies Control American Agriculture. Cory Booker Wants to Change That

OCM Staff

The New Food Economy By Sam Bloch n Wednesday, Cory Booker, the Democratic Senator from New Jersey, introduced a bill that would impose a temporary moratorium on mergers and acquisitions between large farm, food, and grocery companies, and establish a commission to strengthen antitrust enforcement in the agribusiness industry. The bill, modeled after legislation introduced by the late “prairie populist” Democratic Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota in 1999, would be effective for 18 months, or until more comprehensive legislation is passed to Read More …

Forbes | Why Your ‘Product Of U.S.A.’ Steak May Not Actually Be From A Cow Raised On American Soil

OCM Staff

Forbes By Nicole Rasul American shoppers face yet another dilemma in the grocery store aisle. According to a petition submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) by the Organization for Competitive Markets and the American Grassfed Association, not all meat labeled “Product of U.S.A.” is actually from animals raised within U.S. borders. It is “deceptive and misleading,” says the advocacy organizations in the document. They state that due to an ambiguity in the language Read More …