Food Industry
An industry, not a farmer, puts the food on your table
The global food industry is immense: it encompasses everything from seed development to the rearing, slaughter, and sale of food animals at the market. Each year, global food retailers do more than $4 trillion in business.
With that kind of profit on the line, food producers operate like other corporations. They use technology to improve their products (currently, about 45% of U.S. corn and 85% of U.S. soybeans are genetically engineered) and lobby the government that regulates agribusiness to further their own interests. In the 2008 election cycle alone, the food industry donated $65 million to candidates for federal office. So who’s watching out for consumers?
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Sign the Child Nutrition Act Reauthorization
Make sure children have healthy food choices in America's school programs and bring back nutrition.
From the blog
Food Industry Holds Consumer Responsible for…
"There has got to be a better way of shoring up the risks posed by this system than simply slapping cartoon safety diagrams on frozen dinner boxes."
BY THE NUMBERS
$65
million was donated to candidates for federal office by the food industry in 2008 http://bit.ly/tp0008
$1.6
billion was spent by the food industry to advertise to kids under 12 and ages 12-17 http://bit.ly/tp0008
