Posts in Op-Eds
The Farm Group that’s Part of Rural America’s Crisis
The Farm Group that’s Part of Rural America’s Crisis

In an article for Civil Eats, Open Markets' fellow Austin Frerick explains how the Iowa Farm Bureau is hurting rural communities. Although it was created to advocate for farmers and rural communities and is registered as a non-profit corporation, it now receives 84 percent of its revenue from its for-profit insurance arm, the FBL Financial Group, which controlled $10.1 billion in assets in 2017 alone. Its holdings include millions of dollars of investments in large agribusiness conglomerates like Monsanto and Tyson.

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Op-EdsOpen Markets2018, July 2018, Food & Agriculture, Food & Power
These 11 Companies Control Everything About the Fourth of July
These 11 Companies Control Everything About the Fourth of July

In an article for Vice, Open Markets Food & Power reporter Claire Kelloway explains why from hot dogs to beer to chips and even charcoal, you don’t have much of a choice in whom you pay to celebrate. Even though the average grocery store carries tens of thousands of products, Americans' Independence Day shopping dollars overwhelmingly go to a tiny number of enormous companies.

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Op-EdsClaire Kelloway2018, July 2018, Food & Agriculture, Claire Kelloway
Iowa Farm Bureau is a suburban insurance company pretending to be the voice of farmers
Iowa Farm Bureau is a suburban insurance company pretending to be the voice of farmers

In The Des Moines Register, Open Markets' fellow Austin Frerick writes about the Iowa Farm Bureau's power over agricultural policy and how its private revenue sources have given it significant clout both in Iowa and in the national agricultural space. It continues to push for cultivation of only a few crops without any consideration of the consequences of this model on rural Americans. Monopolies, however, thrive under this system.

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Op-EdsOpen Markets2018, June 2018, Food & Agriculture, Food & Power