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March 3, 2012

Forum: Supporting small farmers protects food

by Mary Clifton ----

A farmer gets 32 cents for a pound of tomatoes, 26 cents for a head of lettuce, 54 cents for five pounds of potatoes. Consumers help small farmers by shopping at our local grocery stores and farmers markets, where we have opportunity to buy directly from the grower.

Farmers love the increased revenue they enjoy by selling products directly to the consumer. As corporate control of the food supply increases, farmers have seen a decrease in their share of every dollar consumers spend on food.

Processors and retailers in the middle of the food chain are taking a bigger cut. In 1980, farmers received 35 percent of every dollar consumers spent onfood. Now, their share has fallen to about 15 percent. Though corporations are paying the farmers less, they are not passing these savings on to the consumer. Consumers pay higher prices due to the market power of these large companies.

Five companies own more than 50 percent of our grocery stores. Dean Foods controls 40 percent of all fluid milk. When more of our food comes from large factory farms, it poses a wide range of health and environmental problems not seen with small to mid-size producers. Specifically, when a large meat or dairy processor experiences a food safety problem like salmonella contamination, it affects millions of people across the country because of the company's large market share and broad distribution. Last year, Cargill recalled 36 million pounds of ground turkey after 75 people were sickened and one person died from antibiotic-resistant salmonella.

Presently, only four meat companies control 83 percent of the country's beef processing market. By favoring large concentrated animal feeding operations and owning their own cattle, they are able to force small farmers out of business. Almost 27,000 mid-size independent family farms have been driven out of business over the past five years. This results in more of our food being raised in unhealthy, environmentally destructive factory farms.

While it is helpful to support our small local farmers by buying at local grocery stores and the farmers market, the only way to repair our food system is through action at a national level. With Farm Bill legislation under debate in 2012, and Michigan U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow as the chair of the Senate Agricultural Committee, we can design a farm bill that works for farmers, consumers, and the environment, instead of just big agribusiness. Stabenow's support of a competition title would include disallowing further mergers, require reviews of existing Big Ag mergers, and include a ban on meat packers owning livestock.

Please sign the petition at http://drmarymd.com/, or contact Stabenow at 929-1031. By working together to protect our small farmers through competition title in the Farm Bill, we will ensure diversity in our food supply, support a strong local and regional economy, decrease animal cruelty and protect the green space around our community. We will also provide ourselves with the healthy food we need to feel great and best follow our doctor's advice.

About the author: Mary Clifton blogs on nutrition at DrMaryMD.com. She works regionally with Michigan State University, the Fresh Food Partnership, Food and Water Watch and the Physician Committee for Responsible Medicine to support plant-based nutrition. She practices internal medicine at Building 50 in Traverse City.

About the forum: The forum is a periodic column of opinion written by Record-Eagle readers in their areas of interest or expertise. Submissions of 500 words or less may be made by emailing letters@record-eagle.com. Please include biographical information and a photo.

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