I grew up in South Dakota calling this plant simply "John Morrell". Everyone in South Dakota knows this plant by its awful smell and the horrible stories we all hear about how workers there are treated. argusleader.com/story/news/202…
But what I didn't know is that Morrell merged with AMK Corp. in the 1960s and operated as a subsidiary of another Corp. until Smithfield Foods bought it in 1995. In 2013, Smithfield was purchased by Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd. for $4.72 billion. daytondailynews.com/business/owner…
We all know the meat packing industry exploits immigrants—especially undocumented immigrants. But the consolidation of corporate power in our food chain is also destroying the lives of family farmers and small town economies. desmoinesregister.com/story/money/ag…
For example, farm bailout money to offset Trump's trade war has mostly flowed to the corporate powers in the food chain. Over $22 million went to a single Brazil-based meat corporation, while most family farmers saw less than $5k each. nytimes.com/2020/02/07/us/…
Even Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd. (the Chinese corporation that owns "Smithfield" in Sioux Falls) qualified for Trump's bailout designed for US farmers. washingtonpost.com/business/econo…
Today, corporations in China own 25% of the pigs in America. These corporations are driving up costs for family farmers and putting many out of business—not to mention damaging our food security when trade wars are already impacting our food supply. iatp.org/blog/bailing-o…
I miss the good ol' days when farmers were people, not corporations, and meat packing was a unionized industry. Trump and the federal government should help family farmers, not the big corporations that exploit immigrant workers and fundamentally altering the rural way of life.
I also miss the days back when progressives and "prairie populists" knew how to fight these fights. A modern coalition of family farmers, immigrant farm workers, and meat packers would fundamentally reshape the politics of rural America. usatoday.com/story/news/pol…
Thankfully we have candidates like @JDScholten who are picking up the torch and fighting the corporate giants that are plowing up profits while farmers, farm workers, and families pay the price. Now, if only @JoeBiden will follow suit... dailyyonder.com/opinion-win-ru…
