Multinational corporations aim to get rid of family farm

A travesty is happening in this country to the Family Farmer. Family Farmers are being paid prices for the food they produce that are the same as thirty to forty years ago, with cost of inputs increasing weekly, and all of this without a cost of living raise.

If you like getting food from other countries, where their inspection standards are subpar, then stop reading this letter right now. There is so much being imported that we could produce here, if it wasn't for the multinational corporations that want to get rid of the family farm.

 We are tired of some of those in "officialdom" telling us to get “more efficient.” Farm Women United (FWU) was formed to fight for the family farms that normally do not have a voice at the table. You may say that there are other organizations out there that are fighting, and you are right, there are a few, but there are more that want to get rid of the small to mid-size family farms than keep them.

FWU is unique because it is made up of women who present the farm woman’s point of view about the farm and food crisis that threatens our nation’s rural communities and, therefore, our food supply. We stand beside our family, our spouse, or significant other, doing the farm work, only to see how the low prices are making them depressed, some to the point that they take their own lives. This needs to stop! Spread the word about Farm Women United. We can use all the members that we can get to help us fight this fight. It is not going to be easy. The more voices we have making the chatter, the more seriously they will take us.

If you would like to help, check out our website, www.farmwomenunited.org. We are currently running a “Green Ribbon Campaign” to support the family farms. If you would like a ribbon, let us know and we will send you one. Stand with us in getting fairer prices for our family farms. Our co-ops aren't doing it. Our milk processors aren't doing it. Our food handlers aren't doing it. We are no longer going to stand by waiting for something to be done or for a federal Farm Bill to be drafted without any input from us. Most Americans do not realize how much food we import or from what countries we are importing. Support your local farmers by visiting and buying from local farms or farm markets. They are in most of the larger cities around the country and in smaller towns, too.

The time is now for us to take control of our food again. We lose our family farms, we lose our nation's domestic food supply.

Tina Carlin

Meshoppen, PA

Farm Women United