US Working Group on the Food Crisis

Learn more about the root causes of the food crisis and the real solutions for resolving it with these resources, organized by topic:

The Food Crisis

• Call to Action
• Backgrounder to the Call to Action
• Policy Brief: The World Food Crisis - Who's behind it and what we can do about it
• Policy Brief: Why the Lugar-Casey Global Food Security Act will Fail to Curb Hunger
• Can Sustainable Agriculture Feed the World?
• Supporting Articles and Reports for Can Sustainable Agriculture Feed the World?

Corporate Concentration in Food and Agriculture

• Sample Letters to the US Department of Justice
• Ideas for Letters to the US Department of Justice
• Anti-Trust Primer

Definitions of "antitrust" (laws to regulate excessive concentration in industry), some history of antitrust laws, and descriptions of different kinds of antitrust violations.

• Corporate Concentration in Agriculture Fact Sheet 
  

Written by Mary Hendrickson and William Heffernan at the University of Missouri. Excellent statistics showing the market share of the top several companies in livestock, grain, supermarkets, and others. (From April 2007, prior to several large mergers; more updated statistics are difficult to find).

• Concentration In The Seed Industry Leads To Less Choice, Higher Price For U.S. Farmers 

Detailed new report on corporate control over seeds.

• Statement and Overview by the Competition and Concentration Committee of the National Campaign for Sustinable Agriculture
• Transition Report On Competition Policy-Fighting Food Inflation Through Competition
• Agriculture and Anti-Trust Enforcement in Our 21st Century Economy

Details about the Department of Justice and USDA hearings, also available online here (http://www.justice.gov/atr/public/workshops/ag2010/index.htm ).

• Workshop Schedule 

Schedule of Department of Justice/USDA hearings in 2010, including dates and locations.