Know thy Enemy: Smithfield Foods

Gestation Crates: Smithfield Farms.
Photo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gestation_crates_3.jpg

Smithfield is the world's largest pork producer with over 50 brands. and 200 "gourmet" pork products. This tactic thwarts boycot efforts. They control every aspect of pig production - from breeding to raising to killing to distributing to your local grocery store.

Their political power comes from their size, with 50,000 employees and billions of pounds of pork produced every year.

Smithfield has operations  in 26 US States and eleven foreign countries. Their size gives them the power to influence our political process, deminishing our democracy.




How did they get so big? In just a few years, beginning in 1981, Smithfield began swallowing up competitors. In all, 40 companies where bought out by Smithfield. According to Wikipedia, "Along with specialty brands such as Paula Deen Collection, and international brands such as Weight Watchers, the company's 12 core brands are Armour, Carando, Cook's Ham, Curly's Foods, Eckrich, Farmland, Gwaltney, Healthy Ones, John Morrell, Kretschmar, Margherita, and Smithfield."

Recognize any of these brands? If your still eating pork (ignoring all the health, environmental and animal welfare risks it poses) then please, at least avoid these brands. Mention to your local grocery store that you won't buy any of the brands owned by Smithfield because of their abusive production, their overt influence of the political process and the rough-shod way they use their power to deminish the rights of those of us in rural America.

Source for this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithfield_Foods