USDA/DOJ to Hold Third Hearing on Competition in Agriculture Industry, Focus on Dairy
MEDIA ALERT
WHAT: The USDA and the Department of Justice will hold the third in a series of historic workshops on lack of competition in agriculture markets. The workshop will focus on the dairy industry. Join Family Farm Defenders, National Family Farm Coalition, and Food & Water Watch the evening before the workshop for a town hall meeting, with testimony from farmers, union members, consumers, and leaders in the national food democracy movement.
Did you know that:
- One company controls 40 percent of the U.S. fluid milk supply.
- In 2009, farmers only received 97 cents for every $2.99 gallon of milk and less than $1.00 for every $4.99 pound of cheddar cheese.
- Dairy farmers are in dire economic straights. More than a year of historic low prices means that tens of thousands of dairy farmers are on the brink of losing their farms.
WHEN: Thursday 6/24, 6:30 pm.
WHERE: UW-Madison, Memorial Union, Great Hall (800 Langdon St., Madison WI)
WHO: Speakers at the town hall will include family farmers, labor union members, concerned consumers, and members of the faith community. Groups organizing the town hall event include Family Farm Defenders, National Family Farm Coalition, and Food & Water Watch.
More Information on the USDA/DOJ Workshop:
WHEN: Friday, June 25, 2010 at 9 a.m. (USDA & DOJ workshop: “Agriculture and Antitrust Enforcement Issues in Our 21st Century Economy: Workshop on Competition in the Dairy Industry.”)
WHERE: UW-Madison, Memorial Union, WI Union Theater (800 Langdon St., Madison WI)
WHO: USDA Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Senators Herb Kohl and Russell Feingold, Representatives Ron Kind, Steve Kagen and Tammy Baldwin, and Governor Jim Doyle will participate in the USDA/DOJ workshop.
For more information on the town hall event, go to www.familyfarmdefenders.org or contact Food & Water Watch at (202) 683-2467.