Thread: ever wonder who your money goes to at the grocery store

found this today, just in case you reeeaaalllyyy wondered who gets your cash at the grocery store these days.

http://i.imgur.com/k0pv0.jpg

That's 10 corporations who retail. On the supply side...
Foodies, Get Thee to Occupy Wall Street | Mother Jones

Okay, so farmers rely on a small handful of firms for their inputs. But it turns out the same thing holds true when they harvest and sell their crops. Just four companies—Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge, and Louis Dreyfus—control up to 90 percent of the global trade in grain. In the United States, three of those firms process 70 percent of the soybeans and 40 percent of the wheat milled into flour. The bulk of corn and soy grown by US farmers ends up feeding animals in vast factories, and here, too, the consolidation is dramatic: Three companies now process more than 70 percent of all beef, and just four firms slaughter and pack upwards of 58 percent of all pork and chicken.

No wonder there is no competitive pricing , there is no big overlap how the goods are divided by company...

I don't think the situation is much different in Canada or globally for that matter. A very few large Corporations control the bulk of the supply and distribution sides of the food chain. Industrial scale farming has driven a lot of small family farms out of business and those that survive have gotten larger and are themselves corporations. Anyway, you don't want to turn over too many rocks because you will quickly find out that your choices/options are really limited. No matter what you do your money funnels to a few select benefactors.

Bob

W.Va. Tries to Tackle Childhood Hunger and Obesity - ABC News

I’ve worked for a major American supermarket chain for almost 34 years. About 30 years ago the Division Manager for my division took the time to produce what was known as the ‘Cartales penny'. He used his own personal money to have 1/4 of a penny removed and each employee in his division received one along with a note that out of every dollar spent in the chains stores the profit for Corporate was 3/4’s of a cent!

I don’t know how much they make now as that kind of information sharing is forbidden!

That is pretty Doom & Gloom

So who has planted what this year ???? and did you use GMO free seeds ???

Originally Posted by gssixgun

That is pretty Doom & Gloom

So who has planted what this year ???? and did you use GMO free seeds ???

I doubt there has been any planting yet up here.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

I doubt there has been any planting yet up here.

Bob

4a, 4b Hardiness Zone for most of your area, I would be willing to bet many are like me and have the seeds started indoors since the end of March we are a 5a here...

Heirloom Gardens are the single biggest thing that any one person/family can do to fight big Agri-Business.. Of course if you have the room you can go bigger, but a small raised garden produces much more produce then many realize...
If you really can't grow stuff you can shift to buying at the small farmers markets at least during the growing season..

Whoa, pretty impressive picture. It's very reassuring that US inhabitants worry about such things, though : it sends an overseas message of hope.

COOK, my friends, COOK !
Buy fresh vegetable, fresh meat and cereals and COOK for f***'s sake ! Try not to buy anything that is industrially prepared for you. COOK !

Well, that said I must add : if you can afford it. :S