01/29/09 Everyone Eats

Everyone eats. Sounds very reminiscent of a children's book with a similar title doesn't it. In this instance the book's title should read "Large Food Manufacturing Companies Eat Crow". The uncovering of several food manufacturers as the source for an anti farmer publicity campaign during the rapid rise of retail food costs this last year has left a bad taste in just about everybody's mouth. At the same time that these companies were working so diligently to convince the American public that ethanol production and farmers were the reason for higher food costs they were lining their pockets with record high earnings. While farm families are able to eat some of what they produce, they are still out their shopping and paying higher food prices with the rest of us and feeling the same pinch in their pocketbooks. Sadly the damage done to the American farmer's image by those food manufacturers isn't as easily reversed. Hopefully the American public won't be so quick to believe false blame in the future. Fool us once shame on you mega food companies, fool us twice, shame on us.