Revealed: Emails Between Maryland Governor and Big Ag Show Questionable Relationship

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Revealed: Emails Between Maryland Governor and Big Ag Show Questionable Relationship


If you thought the farm bill was just about agricultural subsidies and food stamps, think again. Not only does the farm bill dictate what we eat, it also establishes whom our nation’s leaders are listening to on issues far beyond food.

Right now the farm bill benefits a few large corporations, like poultry giant Perdue, Inc., thanks to policies that help big agriculture companies keep getting bigger. The four largest companies in each industry slaughter nearly all the chicken and beef we eat, process two-thirds of the pork, sell half the groceries and process about half the milk in the United States. This is no accident. It’s the result of policies, largely outlined in the farm bill, which Congress has passed on behalf of these large companies for decades.

Nothing showcases this often-murky relationship between Big Ag and our political leaders more than emails revealed between Martin O’Malley, the Democratic governor of Maryland (and likely presidential contender in 2016), and Perdue.

Food & Water Watch obtained emails through a Public Information Act request that demonstrate how Perdue profits from chicken sold in California and Michigan exert inappropriate power over O’Malley through intense lobbying efforts on everything from poultry litter incineration to the cases that a university law clinic engages in. ....................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/940292/revealed%3A_emails_between_maryland_governor_and_big_ag_show_questionable_relationship/