Recently, we shared with you that the USDA released a notice of proposed rulemaking. This indicated that this summer the agency will begin writing rules critical to protecting contract poultry and livestock farmers from illegal and unfair corporate business practices including retaliation. The new rule will seek to clarify Section 202(b) of the Packers and Stockyard’s Act, which was passed into law in 1921 in response to rampant abuses in the meatpacking industry. The rule release will be followed by a 60-day public comment period. Click here to read our specific rule guidance about what must be included in order to be effective in protecting farmers.
Today, we launched a #StandwithFarmFamilies campaign including a petition to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and campaign webpage: www.standwithfarmfamilies.org. In July, we’ll be going with a group of farmers to DC to meet with their legislators about this issue.
Farmers deserve freedom of speech. Farmers deserve to be treated with dignity, free from company intimidation or retaliation. Farmers deserve the right to organize. These are rights that have been denied to many livestock and poultry farmers for far too long. Please join our campaign by signing this petition and #StandWithFarmFamilies!
Hear from the farmers!
After raising poultry for 12 years, Anthony Grigsby and his wife, Christy, are facing bankruptcy as a result of company retaliation.
For almost 30 years, Carlton Sanders endured racial discrimination on top of the predatory practices of the company he worked for. When he spoke up, the company retaliated, forcing him to lose his livelihood, his health, and his family.
About Stand with Farm Families
Stand with Farm Families is a project of RAFI-USA, Organization for Competitive Markets, and Government Accountability Project.
To learn more about RAFI-USA’s Contract Agriculture Reform Program, visit www.rafiusa.org/programs/contract-agriculture-reform.
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