Rural Routes/Margot Ford McMillen

Nutrition and Diet Starts on the Farm

When I think about problems in the farming and food world, I’m usually thinking about how farmers are getting screwed by the consolidated corporate system. Today, however, I’m thinking about consumers. While corporations are turning in record profits and blaming inflation, the profits are coming out of our pockets. JBS, a Brazilian beef and pork company, was the top winner with $5.8 billion increase over 2021. Pepsico made a $4 billion jump. And even the smaller gains are impressive. Kellogg, for example, reported revenue for the quarter ending June 30, 2022 was a 8.69% increase over 2021.

Not only are these big corporations making big bank at the same time they blame the government for inflation, they are undermining the information that we get on what kinds of foods we should buy. A recent study by U.S. Right to Know investigates the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and shows that they have accepted money and own stock in many of the bad actors in the food industry.

AND, as they abbreviate themselves, says this on their webpage: The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is the world’s largest organization of nutrition and dietetics practitioners founded in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1917, by a visionary group of women dedicated to helping the government conserve food and improve the public’s health and nutrition during World War I.

But, somewhere along the way, corporate food kidnapped AND.

Through the years, AND has been able to build up a pretty good nest egg. Since they are a fine fundraising group (look at their webpage and facebook pages for ways to donate), and since they shamelessly accept donations from corporate donors like Aramark (a vending machine company that gave $293,000+ in the last decade) and Cargill (which gave $154,000+) and Coca Cola (which donated $477,500+) and ConAgra (which donated $1,414,000+), they’ve gotten rich. More than $15 million in the last decade.

And, if you got that much money, where would you stash it? In the stock market, obviously. So AND has invested in the likes of Dollar General, J.M. Smucker, Pepsico and Proctor and Gamble. These food purveyors and food makers have an interest in creating what U.S. Right to Know calls “ultra-processed.”

In 2015, AND stumbled into a real dilemma when they announced a campaign called “Kids Eat Right.” Intending to crown certain foods as kid-healthy winners, their first pick was Kraft Singles, a “cheese food” that contains a tiny bit of milk hidden in a cesspool of chemicals (did I mention that the National Dairy Council is AND’s biggest donor, coming in at $1,496,000? No? Sorry…)

Hearing that AND had designated Kraft Singles as a kid superfood, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation scoffed, “It’s a taste that’s hard to describe: bland, with a texture that’s both mushy and strangely smooth. Vaguely, but only vaguely, reminiscent of cheese. Kraft Singles are all of the above, and less.”

Dietitians spoke up with a campaign to “repeal the seal” and it looks like AND has done the right thing. Now, if you go to the AND webpages you’ll find many, many messages encouraging users to find their own dietitians, which will help those accredited and registered by AND, but not really help consumers find healthy brands.

Healthy brands? That might be a contradiction in terms. Because as much as corporations disregard the health of their users, they disregard the well-being of their producers. Which brings us to how farmers are getting screwed by the corporate system. Let us count the ways:

Corporate unfairness centers around questions of the unbalance between inputs and what farmers are paid. Case in point: Corn, wheat and soybean farmers depend on inputs like seed and fertilizer. Prices for those things are set by corporate producers. At the same time, corporate consolidation means that corporations can set their own prices when they pay for what the farmer produces. So a farmer’s expense is set by the corporations and so is the farmer’s income.

And, while crop growers have a disadvantage when it comes to the market, that disadvantage pales next to the unfairness of how livestock farmers are treated. If a livestock farmer signs up to build a confinement building with one of the giant corporations, the farmer owns the building and the debt. And, the farmer becomes part of a system that brings him the animals, the feed, prescribes medicines, and transports the animals. You can see the problems here—late deliveries, unfit animals, contaminated feed, unnecessary chemicals, animals that die in transit. And, to make things worse, if the farmer finally gets his buildings paid off, the corporation can prescribe “upgrades” that will have to be paid off just as well.

The answer for smart consumers? Reject the “ultra-processed” and buy from a farmer that works for you, not a corporation. You can interview them at your local farmers’ market. And, finally, support your community instead of the giants!

Margot Ford McMillen farms near Fulton, Mo., and co-hosts “Farm and Fiddle” on sustainable ag issues on KOPN 89.5 FM in Columbia, Mo. Her latest book is “The Golden Lane: How Missouri Women Gained the Vote and Changed History.” Email: margotmcmillen@gmail.com.

From The Progressive Populist, December 1, 2022

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