Learning Something New

One of the things I really like about the Internet and blogs is the new things you can learn, if you have an open enough mind to read and learn things that is. I have been learning a lot about the dairy industry over at <a href="http://northviewdiary.blogspot.com/">Northview Diary</a> and the education has been interesting at times. Yesterday <a href="http://northviewdiary.blogspot.com/2006/01/another-case-of-bse-or-mad-cow-disease.html">I read</a> an offhanded remark about something called milk protein concentrate and how <a href="http://www.nffc.net/issues/dairy/dairy_2.html">this substance</a> affects the dairy industry and you and me.<br />n<br />n<blockquote>Imported illegal dairy additives, called milk protein concentrate (MPC), play a major role in family farmers' devastated milk price, which plummeted over the past five years. Large corporations use MPC over domestically produced dairy additives, such as nonfat dry milk, because it increases the amount of cheese produced for a given volume of milk, allowing lower investment costs for the same, or more, product output.<br />n<br />nIncreasing U.S. imports and MPC use in products leaves more dry milk on the U.S. market, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) buys under its price support program. From 1996 to 2000, CCC support program costs increased by $572 million-an additional cost to taxpayers directly linked to displaced dry milk saturating dairy markets.<br />n<br />nA wide spread of the MPC product entering the U.S. is simply a blend assembled for the purpose of legally circumventing U.S. tariffs. MPC is shipped to the U.S. as a chemical or pharmaceutical product, circumventing dairy tariff and quota rate schedules, allowing corporations to skirt the limits imposed by current World Trade Organization (WTO) trade agreements. </blockquote><br />n<br />nI complain about the big meat packers and the dairy industry has to worry about them and the big milk processors. It's kind of scary when you think about it that some substance that is considered a "chemical or pharmaceutical product" is used to make cheap cheese in the US. Then, because of this substance in our food us as taxpayers have more milk products to buy since it's not being used in the market. <br />n<br />nWhat I always find amazing is how simple farmers and ranchers are out there fighting for food safety against these big corporations and the government continually sides with the big corporations against the food safety and security the farmers and ranchers want. There is a reason for this I hope you know. Keeping food cheap is one of the main goals of our government because starving people cause revolutions, well fed people don't rock the boat. By caving to the big corporations to keep food cheap they stay in power and keep the people complacent and happy. I hope you are all fat and happy, while the small farmers and ranchers go under.<br />n<br />n<b>The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is. Winston Churchill</b>