News from Slow Food re: 12/31 deadline!

Tell the DoJ Your Opinions by Dec. 31

Now is our chance to speak up. The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) is on a fact-finding mission looking at how big business controls food and farming -- and they want to hear from YOU before Dec. 31. Read sample letters from the US Food Crisis Working Group at www.usfoodcrisisgroup.org.

Maybe you've noticed prices rising at the supermarket even while most big food companies made record profits this year, or perhaps you're a farmer who has trouble getting your meat to market because there are no small-scale processing facilities in your region. You may be concerned about food safety and the spread of bacteria like E. coli, which happens much faster when meat and vegetables are process in big centralized locations. Perhaps you have watched a local farm go out of business because it couldn't compete with the prices set by industrial farms and consolidated buyers. You're probably aware of people who have trouble finding good food at affordable prices, as well as farmers having trouble getting good food into mainstream markets.

The DoJ is seeking stories about how corporate control of the food system affects average citizens. If you're concerned that just a few big businesses have so much power over where your food comes from and how it's produced, tell your government. Your comments will help to inform a series of DoJ workshops on these issues in 2010.

E-mail your comments to agriculturalworkshops@usdoj.gov by December 31. Or, you can submit two paper copies of your comments to Legal Policy Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 5th Street, NW, Suite 11700, Washington, DC 20001. All comments received will be publicly posted - if you'd like your comment to be anonymous, please note that in your e-mail.