Kerry Courts Farmers by Opposing Meatpacker Control of Herds

[VaLabor]

Kerry Courts Farmers by Opposing Meatpacker Control of Herds Aug. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry won the vote of David Kruse, an Iowa cattle rancher and self-described lifelong Republican. Kerry says he will fight to stop meatpackers such as Tyson Foods Inc. and Smithfield Foods Inc. from raising their own livestock.

Kruse said he's being squeezed by Tyson, the world's largest meat processor, and Smithfield, the biggest pork producer, because they cut prices through exclusive contracts with some suppliers or by owning their own herds. Bush ``represents the corporate producers,'' said the 51-year-old Kruse, who raises a herd of 500 cattle in Royal, Iowa, 180 miles northwest of Des Moines.

SNIP

Warren Staley, 62, chief executive officer of Cargill Inc., the largest U.S. agricultural company, which owns Excel, the second-largest meatpacker behind Tyson, has raised more than $200,000 for Bush's re-election campaign. That qualifies him as a ``Ranger,'' or one of the president's top fund-raisers.

Tyson Foods donated $101,000 to the Republicans and about $40,00 to the Democrats. Tyson also gave the Bush-Cheney campaign $5,000, the maximum limit under federal law, as did Smithfield Foods' political action committee Hampac. Richard Bond, Tyson's president, contributed $2,000 to the Bush-Cheney campaign, the maximum allowed under federal law.

Kerry, 60, says companies like Smithfield, Virginia-based Smithfield Foods, which raises about 14 million hogs a year through its Murphy Brown LLC subsidiary, are hurting small farmers and producers by dictating prices.

`Time We Fought'

``It's time we fought for family farmers,'' Kerry said in a campaign speech in Independence, Wisconsin, on July 3. He pledged to attack ``unfair and anti-competitive practices, like packer ownership of livestock.''

Kerry is the first presidential candidate to take on the issue of so-called vertical integration in the meatpacking industry, said Michael Stumo, 37, an attorney with the Organization for Competitive Markets, a Lincoln, Nebraska-based group that lobbies for more regulation of commodity pricing.

MORE: http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aJ9Q3cLN.yqE&refer=us

[JI7]

1. this is another wedge issue we can divide the Republicans on

many small business republicans are not doing well because of the large corporations. most of the republicans who are no longer supporting bush or are undecided are that way because of their own personal economic situation.

kerry and edwards are already using it to their advantage but i think this is one area that the entire party can take advantage of.

[alittlelark]

2. Re-read Upton Sinclair

the truth is there.

Only the years have changed.

[girl gone mad]

3. There are many reasons to oppose..

the erosion of the family farm.

[TrogL]

4. So where does Kerry stand on opening the US border to Canadian cattle?

[yellowcanine]

5. Kerry is getting some good advice on farm issues - could make

the difference in Iowa, Ohio, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and with any luck, North Carolina and Georgia.

[davsand]

6. This makes sense for everyone--not just farmers.

It makes perfect sense to me to oppose the idea of a handful of corporations having the market controlled when it comes to food production. Think about this:

Do YOU want corporations like Monsanto or big ag companies (remember how careful they are about chemicals released into water supplies and other Eco-disasters) to have control of all the meat you eat or would you rather have a choice over who produced your food? THAT is where it is headed unless we protect small farmers/producers.

Right now, the bulk of our poultry and pork is produced by something like a total six or seven major producers. The family farmer has no place to sell his chickens or hogs because the market is controlled. The beef markets are getting close to being that bad.

This is the difference between some guy with a couple hundred cattle hanging around in a pasture -v- some mega feed lot that has sick animals mixed in the herd until it becomes a liability (because it might make the entire herd sick.) Dairy is headed that same direction too.

Consider the idea that if you own/control the production you can control the prices AND the quality.

This should win Kerry more than just the farm vote.


Laura

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

7. Hear, hear.

Not to mention the issue of getting your protien from real animals instead of hormone-pumped mutants. I think if I ever decided to go veggie, fear of eating flesh that was grown in a meat packing plant would be my biggest reason.