Farmers Speak: Bust Up Big Ag

There are 2 million farmers and 300 million consumers in the US. Standing in between are a handful of companies who control how food gets from one side to the other.

In 2010, the USDA and Dept of Justice are holding a series of hearings on this issue -- the matter of corporate concentration in food and agriculture. The first hearing was March 12, in Ankeny, Iowa. The night before, about 250 independent family farmers and community activists gathered for a town hall meeting to share their own experiences with big ag.

For more; www.bustthetrust.org

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• farmers
• town
• hall
• iowa
• food
• agriculture
• monsanto
• justice
• deomcracy

[22106118]

Congratulations to all who spoke, they are real people facing a real and vile enemy Monsanto. I fully agree with the speaker who said "this is an international batlle." All farmers and the people who are concerned for the food they grow and eat, must come together.

Monsanto must and can be defeated through international action.

Len Aldis

London UK

[beatrickster]

Go to Google videos: Watch "Controlling Our Food" - very informative documentary about Monsanto - I'm with you guys - Monsanto and other AMERICAN corporations are destroying the lives of farmers and people and animals around the world.

[xenopusgirl]

I don't care whether you are Democrat or Republican conservative or liberal these are the voices of the independent farmers Americans -- all of us want to get behind you-- SO Glad you are speaking out-- KEEP IT UP! Come the the NORTHEAST I will put you on tour ! Ame icans NEED to hear your voices! Most people do not know these things, if they did they would stampede on your behalf!

[jfox7733]

@dayhofffarms Here is what your missing dayhofffarms: i am not a touchy feely liberal who want my food to "feel good". i just want a fair market for seeds and the ability for farmers to save their own seeds. do you remember about 10 0r 12 years ago when all the farmers were up in arms about seed patents? now we just take it for granted that you have to buy seeds every year. you tell me why we need to do that on a product which is not owned by anyone: corn

[jfox7733]

these guys are the real heros

[americangirldoll97]

i really think that family farmers should be the ones who doo the crops and who make us meat i dont agree with haveing factory farmers. i think that when we have people in like america and who have farms and take good care of their animals and crops should be giving us meat and crops not factories my uncle is a farmer and he would agree with me. i am grad you farmers are fighting for whats right! congradulations!!

[aprilreeves1]

Dayhoffarms: I'm a farmer. No one in our area would even consider GM crops. We have all spoken with M's salespeople. There's no way YOU grow GM - you would know certain things - such as you can't grow GM seed one year and then grow non-GM seed the next year. Read the fine print on Monsanto's 12 + page 'agreement'. Oh right, you have never grown it, I forgot. So that would make you a Monsanto implant. What exactly do you farm?

[aprilreeves1]

Wonderful to see farmers standing up!! I'm not sure why any farmer would find Monsanto's control and patents a good thing to do: eventually farmers will realize they jeopardize neighbors' non-GM crops; their ability to decide what they do on their own farms; their seed exchanging abilities and the proliferation of a greedy corporation by buying into Monsanto's programs. If farmers refuse to grow it, Monsanto will disappear as fast as it's come in.

[dogsRbest]

I'm impressed. In all of my years living in rural farm communities, it seems it take an awful lot to get farmers to do something like this. They are very independent and very busy people. Kudos to all of you and I stand ready to support you.

To past commenters:

The issue here isn't GMO seeds per se. It's the patenting of living things and the monopoly that Monsanto has and their devious practices.

[The7Moons]

MONSANTO is dirty how are they being allowed to buy up seeds & own it example green beans now only their seeds they are working on a rape seed plants grows 1 yr but does not reproduce. I saw interviews from farmers who don't even know how soy beans even got on their property they arent growing that .were they set up by monsanto.would not be surprised. Farmers are being sued & scared into NOT saving their seeds cus o now where did that come from soy plants. wether they plant or not sued

[oneirishpoet]

thanks for sharing this powerful and moving video of REAL farmers doing the right thing!

[dayhofffarms]

Farmers would not buy GMO seed if it did not produce. They are not idiots. They know how to make money most efficiently. Also, why would the concept of GMO seed have ever have been envisioned if not to improve yield?