Are Regulators Getting Serious About Taking on Big Ag?

If things keep going this way, I may begin to have hope that the government really can be part of the sustainable food solution instead of a frequent obstacle. First the Department of Justice launched a long-overdue anti-trust probe into Monsanto's practices. Then the Department of Agriculture scrapped the National Animal ID System, largely in response to the outrage of small farmers. Now the Departments of Justice and Agriculture are beginning a series of workshops designed to investigate the widespread monopolization of our agricultural systems by a handful of big companies, particularly in the seed, livestock, and dairy industries.

The first workshop took place in Des Moines, Iowa on March 10th. The turnout was huge — standing room only — and US Attorney General Eric Holder (pictured) and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack pledged that they would not allow big companies to misuse their power to stifle competition. The highly-criticized patented seed protection policies of Monsanto were obviously at the top of everyone's agenda, and while Monsanto was not mentioned by name, officials promised to aggressively pursue any patent misuse, prompting audience applause. But the focus of the workshop was broad, and happily, the DOJ seems to have its eye on the system as a whole and not just any one company. "You will see an historic era of enforcement that will grow," Holder promised.

Four more such workshops are planned to be held around the country in the coming weeks to gather concerns and complaints from farmers, labor and consumer groups, corporate officials, and academics. Officials have yet to comment thus far on specific companies or actions they plan to take.

For far too long more and more small farmers have become indentured servants of a few Big Ag companies or pushed out of the market entirely. The level of consolidation we see in the food sector today is absolutely unprecedented. I am always of the opinion that talk is cheap, and I look forward to seeing more real action, but even talk has been lacking in the past. If the workshop series marks a genuine shift in policy and regulators start actually cracking down on big companies that use their market share to unfairly push around smaller farmers, this could be huge.

Photo credit: ryanjreilly via Flickr