RAFI-USA joins national #FairShake for Farmers week of action campaign to raise awareness about the harms of corporate consolidation in agriculture
–RAFI-USA 2017 documentary, Under Contract: Farmers and the Fine Print, Re-released in support of #FAIRSHAKE–
RAFI-USA is pleased to join a broad group of organizations in raising awareness about the harms of corporate consolidation in agriculture and speaking out for strong antitrust enforcement and rulemakings that support farmers and ranchers. This #Fairshake for Farmers Week of Action, September 20-24, 2021, aims to:
- raise awareness about the existing imbalance of power in our food system
- uplift and show respect towards people working along the food supply chain
- offer an alternative to industrial agriculture’s “business as usual”
- bring together organizations in support of farmer fair practices and other agriculture antitrust reform agenda items
Since its founding in 1990, RAFI-USA has recognized that the food system is deeply inequitable. In this food system, rural communities are exploited to benefit corporate power structures. Working across agricultural sectors and collaboratively through coalitions, RAFI-USA combines on-the-ground practical services to farmers along with federal policy advocacy — advocacy which is based on direct experiences in working with farmers through its programs and its Farmer Crisis Hotline.
In support of #FairShake, RAFI-USA is re-releasing its 2017 documentary, Under Contract: Farmers and the Fine Print. This hour-long documentary features farmers who share their stories and industry experts who reveal how the corporate production model pits farmer against farmer. Under Contract tells this story through the lens of global poultry farming.
For years, RAFI-USA has fought alongside contract poultry growers for better rules to regulate corporate meatpackers’ treatment of farmers. We hope that the current administration will follow its Executive Order Promoting Competition and its announcement of the upcoming Packers and Stockyards Act rulemakings with strong antitrust enforcement and rules which specifically:
- protect farmers from retaliation and discrimination
- designate any tournament system as providing undue preference
- state that there is no requirement for farmers to prove competitive injury when alleging violation of the Act
- clarify that an integrator’s “reasonable business decision” does not justify an undue or unreasonable preference or advantage
During the Week of Action, participating organizations will share experiences and concerns about why having a food system with only a few corporations in control negatively impacts farmers, workers, eaters, and rural communities.
RAFI-USA looks forward to participating in this national awareness campaign.