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Times Advocate, 1999-09-01, Page 19Wednesday,September 1, 1999 Community Competition lost in food system Dr. Bill Heffernan says mergers and partnerships have eliminated competition in the food sector giving farmers and consumers with fewer choices. By Kate Monk TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF EXETER A few, transnational companies are controlling the world's food supply and their control. -could ulti- mately threaten political. democracy. That was the ',yarning' Dr. Bill Heffernan gave an audience Aug. 24 at the S _ nth tion Heileman presented statistics from the United • States food system and said the Canadian system is nearly identical. In the. -- U.S., four Companies con- trol 49 per cent of broiler poultry production, 79 per. cent of beef slaughter, 59 per cent of pork slaughter and 42_ per cent of turkey production. He said the story ,is the same in grain processing. "When four firms have 40 per cent of the market, you no longer have com- petition," Heffernan explained. If economic democracy is lost, a coun- try can aLs lose political democracy because the POLICE BRIEFS Tools stolen TUCKERSMITH TWP. -- Tools and other equip- ment worth about $3,000 were stolen from a Tuckersmith Conc. 4 shed sometime between 10:30 p.m. -7 a.m. overnight Aug. 29. Thieves gained entry by forcing a side door open. Once inside the thieves stole three Stihl chain - saws, a 9" Black & p. Decker electric grinder, a 3/4" Craftman's. socket set, a 14" Hitachi cut off saw plus other items. Anyone with informa- tion on this crime is asked to call the Huron OPP at (519) 524-8314 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800- 222-8477 (TIPS). large companies influence politicians. The monopoly has led to big profits for the compa- nies in control. Only the pharmaceutical industry makes bigger profits than the food industry, Heffernan said. "You're in one of the best industries for making money. You're Just in the wrong (end) of it," he told the audience of mostly farmers. Heffernan said the strength of multi -nation- als lies in diversification -- producing many prod- ucts and operating in sev- eral countries -- but these companies encour- age farmers to specialize rather than diversify. Specialization makes farmers completely dependant on input com- panies and processors. , Globalizing allows a company to sell products at below cost at a loss in one country until the competition is 'driven out, Heffernan said. • Biotechnology will have an impact on competition: because only six compa- nies have gene technolo- gy., Heffernan said. Private enterprise has convinced the govern- ment to allow them to patent the technology in order to quickly develop the technology. "Who needed (biotech- nology) that fast?" he asked. Instead, Heffernan said biotechnology should have been kept in the public sector and debated in a public forum until the implications are fully understood. Heffernan doesn't buy the argument that biotechnology can be jus- tified by the need to feed the world's population because farmers in poor countries won't be able to afford the seed and nec- essary crop inputs. Heffernan sees the food sector becoming like other sectors such as manufacturing where the bottom line rules decision making. But he believes food) ;too essential to be left In ;the hands of a few private corporations. Heffernan presented a few solutions for farmers to break out of the system but admitted there isn't much medium and large scale farmers can do to sever their dependence on the transnationals. "Many will not be able to fit into niches," he admitted. Heffernan said the solu- tion lies in connecting farmers more directly to consumers. Farmers should make food production "more than just a farm and rural issue. Make is an urban issue," he advised. He also recommended producers establish a sys- tem that capitalizes on the weaknesses of the transnationals. He suggested the system should not take a lot of capital investment and should focus on niche markets rather than mass production which the transnationals can do cheaply. "You want a system where the consumer trusts the farmer," he said. "You can't have that when you have many clients." Heffernan also encour- aged farmers to be involved in the entire food system. "Once it's put into the hands of the big compa- nies, they make the money," he said. The `bigger is better' philosophy is part of agri- cultural . economic thought, Heffernan said, adding it takes a farm economic crisis to "make us realize it's not going in a good direction." "We need to make this a food issue so consumers will be part of it," he advised. Heffernan suggested people consider investing in companies in their communities and gain more knowledge about those companies' invest- ments. He also encour- aged farmers as con- sumers to give preference to buying food grown in Ontario. Bob Bedggood, presi- dent of the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, told Heffernan there is no alternative view to the `bigger is bet- ter' philosophy and that urbanites don't care how their food is produced. "People with the biggest buying power aren't at the meetings," Bedggood said. Heffernan responded that farmers should do more to educate con- sumers and "they will care." vik NO UMIT FINANCING FOR 48 MONTHS TIMu. cls *Mired at raaae aR MI of 4.r ea Smell* (model 9cs3LM manual trwelt down rpt of $1.200 et Mb mac• . Nue. Wu* of $225 due on delivery.obMOWon $10.24/ and purchase option prbe of $8.031 Weed on ma iknum� Mu• Ad piaster* Im Charge of SOWN a/rIM0�l4► CE (modal B 1$8) $14.025. MAIM ttAtis 820.000 et 2" per annum equals $440.92 per month for 48 (noodle. c.o.B. is $1,184.18 fat an obll Won total ot$21.184.18 2.11% financing awaI*.dna IAN MOOELS.