Fact Sheets: Consumers

Roundup herbicide. Agent Orange. PCBs. Genetically engineered seeds. These may not seem related, but they all have something in common: Monsanto.

The agriculture and food sector is unusually concentrated, with just a few companies dominating the market in each link of the food chain. In most sectors of the U.S. economy, the four largest firms control between 40 and 45 percent of the market, and many economists maintain that higher levels of concentration can start to erode competitiveness. Yet according to data compiled by the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2012, in the agriculture and food sector, the four largest companies controlled 82 percent of the beef packing industry, 85 percent of soybean processing, 63 percent of pork packing, and 53 percent of broiler chicken processing.

Since the first genetically engineered (GE) crops were introduced in the United States in the 1990s, consumers have not been able to tell whether they are eating these controversial new ingredients. And whenever the subject of mandatory labeling of GE foods comes up, the food industry claims that labeling will be prohibitively expensive.

Investment bankers and other major financial players are increasingly interested in taking control of water and sewer services across the United States. Private equity vehicles are armed with more than $100 billion for infrastructure worldwide. Although most deals in the U.S. water utility market have involved existing private sector companies, a number of fund managers anticipate that the ongoing fiscal crisis will drive some governments to privatize their water infrastructure. To make that prediction a reality, major financial interests are backing various government proposals that facilitate privatization and private investment bankers and other major financial players are increasingly interested in taking control of water and sewer services across the United States. Private equity vehicles are armed with more than $100 billion for infrastructure worldwide. Although most deals in the U.S. water utility market have involved existing private sector companies, a number of fund managers anticipate that the ongoing fiscal crisis will drive some governments to privatize their water infrastructure. To make that prediction a reality, major financial interests are backing various government proposals that facilitate privatization and private financing of public infrastructure.

Allentown is considering a risky and potentially very costly ploy to raise money to cover some of its pension liabilities. Mayor Ed Pawlowski has proposed a 50-year lease of the water and sewer systems that he hopes will produce $150 million to $200 million in upfront cash for the city.1 This money, however, is not cheap. Any upfront payment that the city receives is a costly loan that households and local businesses will repay through their water bills for decades. While Allentown’s fiscal difficulties are certainly serious, the city must address the issue directly and avoid budget gimmicks like water privatization that will increase costs for generations of Allentonians.

When it comes to labeling genetically engineered (GE) foods, the United States lags behind nearly 50 developed nations, including all European Union member states, Australia, Brazil, China, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, Saudi Arabia and South Korea. The European Union requires all food, animal feeds and processed products with biotech content to bear GE labels.

The United States and the European Union are moving toward privatizing their fisheries management systems through catch shares, while Iceland, with one of the world’s oldest and most comprehensive catch share programs, is struggling to find a way to dismantle its program. Why? The answer is that catch shares have failed Iceland’s fisheries and the nation as a whole.