We've long respected Wabasso, Minnesota, area hog farmer Paul Sobocinski, who has long worked as an organizer for rural communities. He is a Public Program Organizer with the Land Stewardship Project who had been working on farm crisis and health care policy before the pandemic. The buyer for his hogs is Niman Ranch.
His letter to the editor in Thursday's Star Tribune is worth a read. Under the headline, The cracks have been there all along, Sobocinski writes:
It seems every day COVID-19 is exposing the cracks in our highly concentrated food system. The latest example struck home for me as a southwestern Minnesota farmer when one of the nation’s largest pork plants shut down as a result of the virus (“Plant closures have yet to affect meat supply,” April 14). When that Smithfield plant was owned by John Morrell & Company, I sold hogs there for over 30 years. As the meat industry has become consolidated to an unimaginable scale (four firms control 66% of pork slaughter, according to the University of Missouri), companies like Smithfield have gained unprecedented power.
They’ve wielded that power at the expense of family farmers, workers and communities. They stopped buying from farmers like me and successfully lobbied the government to allow them to increase line speeds to “profitable” levels in their “elbow to elbow” production systems. They don’t respect workers’ needs for sick and safe time, creating dangerous situations for everyone.
Refusal of the Department of Justice and Congress to act has created situations where a single meat or dairy processor can be the only game in town for hundreds of miles. When that plant shuts down, either temporarily or permanently, the negative repercussions start in rural communities and extend to your local grocery store.
When we don’t take care of workers, we all pay the price: Workers are sickened, farmers are put out of business, communities suffer and the food supply is at risk. The way we pull through this pandemic and economic crisis is together, or not at all.
Spot on.
Earlier posts featuring Sobocinski:
- Session Daily: Struggling farmers could see relief from loan fees with passage of Lippert's HF3739
- Paul Sobocinski: MN rural reality & factory farms
- Guest post: Senate language defining feedlots as pasture could mean more manure in waters
- Paul Sobocinski attends competition hearing in Washington (Agrinews)
- Local food: aiming for the soul, reaching our stomachs
Recent posts about Smithfield:
- Dead Smithfield worker's wife: "In the name of Jesus Christ, these people need to face justice."
- Shared meat-packing workforce: Sioux Falls COVID-19 cluster may have MN community echo
- We're not New York City: Sioux Fall Smithfield packing plant 4th largest hotspot in United States
- We're not New York City, part II: Sioux Falls Smithfield pork plant closing indefinitely
- We're not New York City, part III: Washington Post reports on Noem's fearless leadership
- Sioux Falls to Consider Stay-at-Home Order; Golfing Still Essential (Dakota Free Press)
- COVID-19 infection cluster in Sioux Falls, S.D. draws contrast with Minnesota (Minnesota Reformer)
Photo: Land Stewardship Project policy program organizer Paul Sobocinski.
If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.
Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email [email protected] as recipient.
Comments