Beyond their leadership in legislative advocacy and public education, farmers also band together to form alternative marketing mechanisms, in an effort to challenge the anti-competitive buying power of large food companies
There can be no question about the devastation wrought on farmers in North America by the industrialization of agriculture and the disproportionate market power of an ever-smaller number of transnational agro-food companies. These phenomena have dramatically reduced the number of farmers in the United States and Canada over the past several decades, driving many off the land and into precarious and uncertain economic futures.
Yet for those who are able to stay in the food production business, the keys to survival are a defiant spirit and a willingness to join with other producers in similar circumstances to protect themselves from monopoly power and from agricultural policy shaped by food companies. The farm organizations listed at right have been tireless campaigners for fair legislation to better balance the agricultural marketplace, to recognize the contributions of farmers to rural development, and to acknowledge the environmental benefits to entire societies of effective farm land management.
However, beyond their advocacy efforts and their networking to respond to common threats to their livelihoods from the global food cartel, farmers also develop important alternative marketing mechanisms to maximize their share of the consumer food dollar and reduce the extraordinary proportion that accrues to the processing and retailing firms whose oligopoly power shapes their revenues. Going beyond the traditional farmer cooperative arrangements that serve to improve their sale price and hedge against fluctuations, farmers are also reaching out to create new markets in response to consumer demands for fresher, safer food.
Follow the links at right to learn more about the advocacy goals of North American farmer organizations, but also to see how they link with alternative food system proponents to supply the growing demand for nutritious, sustainably grown foods.
