Investigate Midwest (https://investigatemidwest.org/tag/cargill/page/3/)
Agribusiness giant Cargill last week released its annual corporate responsibility report, a set of goals focused on sustainability that influence how the company will operate worldwide.
The largest privately held company in the United States will soon become a little smaller, as Minneapolis-based Cargill plans to sell its pork business to Brazilian meat producer JBS’ USA Pork division. The Wall Street Journal reported that the deal is worth $1.45 billion and includes two meat processing plants in Iowa and Illinois, along with five feed mills in Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa and Texas. It also includes four hog farms in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
The Corn Refiners Association is gearing up to take on the sugar industry. According to a June 24 Washington Post exclusive, the Corn Refiners Association plans on investing in a lobbying effort to take apart decades-old sugar subsidies and tax breaks. The Washington Post reported that the association recently hired 10 outside lobbyists.
Three U.S. agribusiness companies face a lawsuit regarding child labor at cocoa plantations. Plantation workers filed the case against Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill and Nestlé in 2005 when the workers were 12 to 14 years old. The case is now scheduled for a final ruling in the Supreme Court.
Powerful agribusiness companies that regularly net billions in profits are major recipients of state and federal tax breaks, subsidies, grants and loans. Just seven of those companies have pocketed billions since 2000, according to government subsidy data from Good Jobs First. Tax experts say the companies get that money, at least in part, because of political muscle.
Tens of millions of people live off of government welfare in the United States. Some say that giant agriculture corporations do, too. An analysis of data attained by the policy research organization Good Jobs First shows that just seven agribusinesses have received billions of dollars in state and federal grants, subsidies, loans and tax breaks throughout the past few decades. Critics call this vast pool of government funds "corporate welfare."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently released its agriculture projections, which run through 2024. The projections bring good news for those in the livestock industry, as U.S. meat exports are expected to grow.