Posts in Blogs
Data Consolidation Threatens Sustainable Agriculture Says International Panel
Data Consolidation Threatens Sustainable Agriculture Says International Panel

If you care about reducing pesticide use, promoting agricultural biodiversity, and supporting small farmers, then you should also care about who’s amassing agricultural data. That’s the message of a new report from a group of sustainable food policy experts, out last week. The International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems spent three years putting together a comprehensive food policy platform outlining how the European Union can build a more equitable and sustainable food system. Among dozens of proposals, the report called on EU regulators to “block agribusiness mergers leading to over-consolidation of farm data” as a way to promote more resilient and ecological food production.

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BlogsClaire Kelloway2019, February 2019, Food & Agriculture, Claire Kelloway
The Merger That Could Kill Your Favorite Magazine
The Merger That Could Kill Your Favorite Magazine

Google’s and Facebook’s ever-tightening control over online advertising spending in the United States continues to make it harder for magazine publishers to keep their businesses alive. But publishers’ jobs may soon get even more difficult if the Department of Justice fails to block printer Quad/Graphics’ $1.4 billion bid to buy its only major competitor in the business of printing physical magazines, LSC Communications.

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BlogsOpen Markets2019, January 2019
Trump Administration Guts Office Designed to Protect Farmers from Ag Monopolies
Trump Administration Guts Office Designed to Protect Farmers from Ag Monopolies

Almost a century ago, in 1921, Congress passed the Packers & Stockyards Act to protect America’s farmers and ranchers from meat packing monopolies. Last week the Department of Agriculture quietly eliminated the independent office tasked with enforcing that law, the Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA). The change was the single biggest in agricultural antitrust regulation since Congress passed the original Act.

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BlogsClaire Kelloway2018, December 2018, Food & Agriculture, Claire Kelloway
Check out our new report - America's Concentration Crisis
Check out our new report - America's Concentration Crisis

Due to extreme concentrations of wealth and political power, our country is experiencing severe economic inequality, stagnant household income, the collapse of business formation and innovation, and historic levels of political polarization. This report shows that such concentration is not unique to one or two economic sectors. It is persistent across a diverse range of industries.

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BlogsOpen Markets2018, November 2018
Big Food Paybacks to Cafeteria Operators Spark Controversy
Big Food Paybacks to Cafeteria Operators Spark Controversy

Last week, a coalition of farmers, fishermen, and food system activists launched a new campaign that calls on three dominant food service management companies, Aramark, Compass Group, and Sodexo, to increase local and humane food purchasing, invest in racial equity, and reduce their carbon emissions, among other demands. These companies represent 77.5 percent of the food service management industry, or the business of running cafeterias and restaurants for hospitals, schools, stadiums, corporate headquarters, and other institutions.

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BlogsClaire Kelloway2018, September 2018, Food & Agriculture, Food & Power, Claire Kelloway