Search This Blog

De Omnibus Dubitandum - Lux Veritas

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Government Favors And Subsidies To Organic Agriculture: Follow The Money,

Government Favors And Subsidies To Organic Agriculture: Follow The Money, By Henry I. Miller


As the media continue to burnish the “good health” halo of the organic industry, another new narrative is emerging–that “Big Ag” lobbyists are paying off lawmakers to advance their agenda while advocates of the poor, beleaguered organic industry are camped mournfully outside the Capitol in their compost-soiled overalls. The metamessage recalls the admonition ascribed to “Deep Throat,” reporter Bob Woodward’s confidential Watergate source: “Follow the money. Always follow the money.” That was the central point of two recent articles in Politico and Civil Eats, which portrayed Big Ag and food companies with deep pockets as hiring hordes of professional lobbyists to further their interests at the expense of virtuous “good food” companies, which can’t afford to lobby.

According to the Politico article,“there is virtually no ‘good food’ industry lobbying strategy in place, as the vanguards of healthier eating have largely ignored Capitol Hill.” Civil Eats chimed in,“From GMO [genetically modified organism] labeling to pesticides to the source of the meat you buy, a handful of companies are spending heavily to keep information off your food labels.” However, with the advent of social media, the Internet and heavily-funded front groups that have no donor disclosure requirements, the scope of “lobbying” has expanded. No longer does it mean hiring a smooth-talking, cash-dispensing hired gun from Washington DC’s fabled K Street.

The reality is that the organic industry is doing plenty of “lobbying.”......To Read More....


No comments:

Post a Comment