Issues in Depth

Special Issue on Milk Protein Concentrate
    The Milkweed has issued an in-depth special report detailing the many ways that cheap imported Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) harms Americans on both ends of the food chain. MPC imports displace our farm milk with disastrous results. Greedy processors get richer while dairy farmers take another big hit in the pocketbook. The quality of U.S. manufactured dairy products suffers. Consumers' confidence in many items in the dairy case declines. Read The Milkweed's special MPC issue here.

The Young Executives Report
    The Young Executives Report was a secret internal document developed by Nixon appointees at USDA as a blueprint to dismantle federal farm programs. This heinous scheme laid out point-by-point the master Republican plan to:
    * Shred the farm income safety net.
    * Achieve Free Trade.
    * Privatize farm credit.
    * Promote concentration in livestock production
    * Advance fixed-contract forward pricing, futures & options trading, and other “Risk Management” tools.
Fortunately, the Young Executives Report was exposed to the light of public scrutiny by Sen. John Melcher (D-MT), who had it published in the Congressional Record on June 21, 1972. Read the entire report here.

Flanigan Report on Ag Trade
    Exclusive to The Milkweed -- the infamous "Flanigan Report" on Agricultural Trade Policy. Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey exposed this shocking Nixon-era plan to sacrifice America's dairy farmers to free trade. This nefarious plan has wide-ranging influences that continue to be seen in the U.S. negotiating strategies for the WTO, the FTAA, and other free trade schemes. Click here to view the Flanigan Report.

The World's Emerging Dairy Giant
    India, the world's biggest milk producing country, is growing fast and looking to become an export powerhouse despite persistent problems with food safety and product quality. The Milkweed now features the following pieces from online sources on the emergence and rapid evolution of India as a major player on the world dairy stage. In time, the current trend that has seen the widespread outsourcing of U.S. high technology jobs to low-cost Indian workers could broaden to include dairy production as well.
    "Operation Flood" is an excellent primer on India's milk producing sector  and the Indian government's efforts beginning in the 1970's to transform the dairy industry from a net importer into a major player on the world stage.
    The Second White Revolution published online by Khaleej Times reports on how India's dairy industry is being drastically reshaped by the influence of multinational dairy firms and the shift toward branded milk products.
    India Leads Global Milk Output in 2005 published Jan. 30, 2006 in the online edition of India's The Financial Express, reports that "India's output keeps growing strongly on an annual basis as investments continue in the sector." It also notes, "The country with the fastest production growth is China, which has almost doubled its milk output since 2001. However, some reports indicate the rate of growth has subsided somewhat in 2005, under higher costs of production. Production in 2005 is now expected to grow by 20%, down from 26% last year."