http://www.commondreams.org/news2008/0512-18.htm
May 12, 2008 Food & Water Watch Cargill: Key Player in Global Food Crisis New Food & Water Watch Report Reveals the Damaging Impacts of Agribusiness Giant WASHINGTON, DC - May 12 - While millions of people around the world face severe hunger, the handful of agribusiness corporations that dominate the global agricultural market are seeing huge profits. One of the key players in the global food market, Cargill, is profiled in a new report released today by the national consumer group Food & Water Watch. The report, entitled Cargill: A Corporate Threat to Food and Farming, details Cargill's vast influence over international trade and how the company threatens consumers, family farmers, workers, the environment, and even entire economies around the world. "Cargill is making enormous profit from the international trade system that is causing all this food instability around the world," stated Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter. "This corporate behemoth is behind almost every aspect of the worldwide agricultural system with no accountability for consumer health, the environment or human rights." The name Cargill largely goes unnoticed by many consumers, yet their products appear on shelves in grocery stores and in menus at fast-food chains across the world. According to the report, Cargill has gained control over huge swaths of the world's agriculture processing, storage, transport and trade, operating numerous business sectors and divisions. Cargill produces and markets chicken and egg products to McDonald's in the United Kingdom and Western Europe, in addition to Pizza Hut, Burger King, and school cafeterias in the United States. Cargill's meat and poultry divisions are just a fraction of the products they control. The company deals with oilseeds, wheat, corn, biofuels, oils, lubricants, salts, health and pharmaceutical products and animal feed and fertilizers -- products that have contributed to environmental degradation both in the United States and abroad. The report details the numerous threats Cargill's operations pose to air, water and rainforests. Cargill is responsible for spilling toxic chemicals into the San Francisco Bay, releasing hazardous compounds into the air, and clearing South American rainforests to expand its production of soy and palm oil. And it is not just controversies over global trade or environmental impacts that surround the company. Cargill is also linked to questionable food technologies such as irradiation, genetically modified foods, and the use of carbon monoxide to artificially enhance the color of meat long past its expiration date. The report recommends action by Congress and regulators to rein in this agribusiness giant, as well as telling consumers how to opt out of Cargill's model of industrial meat production. To view the report Cargill: A Corporate Threat to Food and Farming, visit: http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/food/pubs/reports/cargill Download the PDF http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/food/pubs/reports/cargill/download?id=pdf Cargill: A Corporate Threat to Food and Farming International giant Cargill is one of a relatively small number of powerful corporations that control the global agricultural system. Cargill, among those with the widest and deepest influence, describes itself as an "international provider of food, agricultural and risk management products and services. With 158,000 employees in 66 countries, the company is committed to using its knowledge and experience to collaborate with customers to help them succeed." Still in family hands, Cargill is the largest privately owned company in the world. Its grain division is the number one source of grains and oil-seeds in North America for domestic use, as well as exporting, and it is a major player in the beef and poultry industries. With so many business sectors, operating divisions, and locations across the globe, keeping tabs on the specifics of Cargill is difficult. But in general, the Minneapolis-based company markets, processes, packs, distributes, transports, and trades agricultural, food, industrial, and other products and services. It is a leading grain processor and a top U.S. meat packer, but more importantly, it greatly influences - and some analysts would say it controls - both markets. Cargill deals with wheat, corn, and oilseeds; meats, poultry, and fish; industrial products such as biofuels, oils, lubricants, and salts; health and pharmaceutical products; and agricultural services such as animal feed and fertilizers. In short, Cargill sells farmers many of the inputs they need, and buys much of their output for trading and processing. The corporate behemoth has created a worldwide agricultural system in which it is both buyer and seller, and as a result has reaped massive profits. It reported profits of $2.34 billion for the 2007 fiscal year. Unfortunately, Cargill has not been as successful in protecting the rights of consumers, workers, or the environment as it has been in adapting profitable business strategies. Cargill threatens the environment in both the United States and abroad. It has spilled toxic waste into the San Francisco Bay, violated the Clean Air Act with harmful emissions, and deforested key habitats for endangered species in South America. And Cargill treats people no better than it does the environment. Its operations are known to pay their workers low wages, expose them to dangerous pesticides, and renege on critical promises made to the community by a corporation it acquired. It is even alleged to force children to labor under hazardous conditions. Cargill shortchanges American farmers by transferring production overseas. Because Cargill's loyalty lies in profits, it does not hesitate to use new and potentially dangerous food technologies if they may bring in revenue. Cargill pushes genetically modified products, invests in irradiation, and lobbies for the right to use carbon monoxide to artificially imbue red meat with the look of freshness long past its expiration date. This report, Cargill: A Corporate Threat to Food and Farming, will show that Cargill's vast influence on global agricultural trade threatens the health of consumers, family farmers, the environment, and even entire economies and governments. _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
