Becoming a Market Society 7susceptibility, extreme weather, and climate are just some examples.
Contracts may also require farmers to install and pay for company-
mandated technology upgrades, disallow lawsuits by using forced-
arbitration clauses, or omit transparency safeguards pertaining to
standards and weights. Compensation is typically tied to a “tournament
system”—a scheme whereby farmers compete against each other over a
fixed amount of compensation.
Then there are the working conditions. Long hours are spent in
a closed environment with thousands of animals living on slatted floors,
beneath which is a waste pit of liquids and gases—ammonia, carbon
dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, and hydrogen sulfide—so toxic it
can kill humans and the pigs should the ventilation system fail.
Contracts also contain nonperformance clauses. Should the company
decide to revoke the contract, farmers have few options, especially since
traditional markets are no longer viable. But contract or not, farmers are
still on the hook to pay off land and buildings mortgaged in their name,
even if unoccupied.
None of what I describe is breaking news. But it illustrates that mod-
ern farming can be the antithesis of independence and opportunity.
In 009 , USDA used its legal authority to address anti-competitive
behavior. When it did, members of Congress on both sides called hear-
ings, wrote USDA letters, and withheld funding. In December 0 6 , a
watered-down set of rules was released.
In 0 7 , the incoming Trump administration withdrew the rules.
When they did, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association said, “This
is a victory for America’s cattle and beef producers—and it’s a victory for
America’s consumers.” The National Pork Producers Council added
that the rules “would have had a devastating impact on America’s pork
producers. The regulations would have restricted the buying and sell-
ing of livestock, led to consolidation of the livestock industry—putting
farmers out of business—and increased consumer prices for meat.”
It’s hard to read such statements without thinking of the “double-
speak” of George Orwell’s 1984 or perhaps his other dystopia, Animal
Farm. The Justice Department and USDA had followed a methodical
process, investing tens of thousands of hours and untold expenditures
in nationwide hearings, interviews, investigations, and fact-finding
missions. A long, drawn-out rule-making process followed afterward.