Dairy Industry Milks Congress for All It’s Worth

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Back in April, Mother Jones reported that huge industrial farming companies, such as Dean Foods, were getting into organic milk—only to bend if not break the strict standards governing organic production while the USDA stood idly by.

Milk might seem like a bland issue, but it’s big business: Americans consume more than 6 billion gallons of milk annually. Demand for organic milk outstrips supply, making it an especially lucrative industry.

If you have doubts about how industrial farmers squeeze small farmers and agricultural lobbies squeeze members of Congress, don’t miss the Sunday Washington Post‘s narrative piece on how one farmer tried to buck the system, only to watch and learn as industry lobbyists got Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and others to revoke a Depression-era law that allows farmers who bottle their own milk to set their own prices—without so much as a hearing or a floor vote. And that was just to get one farmer to stop following rules they didn’t like.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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