TYLER MORNING TELEGRAPH (TEXAS)/THE PROGRESSIVE -- Anthony Pahnke is vice president of Family Farm Defenders and an assistant professor of International Relations at San Francisco State University in San Francisco. This column was produced for the Progressive Media Project, which is run by The Progressive magazine, and distributed by Tribune News Service.
“We can change the system to improve pay and working conditions for the people who produce the food we put on our tables.
“Meatpacking workers need a living wage, improved conditions and legal protections for those who raise complaints. Farmers need a floor price for their produce. Both workers and farmers would both benefit from the enforcement of existing antitrust legislation, which would put the breaks on corporate consolidation.”