If I wanted to destroy the independent dairy farmer, I would start by demonizing milk. I would subtly encourage people to believe that milk is unhealthy. I would make people believe that dairy farming is environmentally destructive. I would portray dairy farmers as stupid; I would not defend them when they are accused of abusing cows, murdering calves, and “pumping” their animals “full of drugs and hormones.” I would even encourage celebrities to say so. In pop culture, I would portray serial killers and psychopaths calmly sipping a glass of milk.
Next, I would turn milk into a commodity. I would encourage marketing agencies that enjoy a federally mandated dairy checkoff to quietly shift their marketing efforts away from milk and away from farmers, to dairy-based products. I would do this, because I know that as soon as milk becomes the raw ingredient, rather than the product, the farmer becomes completely beholden to a pricing system they have no influence in whatsoever. I would do this, because I know that products like cheese, butter, and yogurt can be upsold at market with no expectation whatsoever that the excess will trickle back to the independent farmer.
As an added bonus, even as US domestic demand for dairy increases to historic levels, the pricing system is designed to reward the middlemen, rather than the producer. I can easily brush off lower prices paid to farmers even as demand increases with really smart-sounding logic like “decrease in milk solid exports to China”, or I would simply blame Canadian and North American trade deals, or the (latest) conflict in the Middle East.
Next, I would encourage the consumption of dairy alternatives like soy, almond, and other highly processed food products. I would trick consumers into believing these alternatives are morally, ethically, environmentally, and economically superior to traditional dairy, even though they are not. This part is easy — while liquid milk is still bought and sold in the same boring old plastic gallon jugs, dairy alternatives would be colorfully and creatively packaged and labeled, with more attractive point of sale displays and endorsements. I know that alternative products do not need to be better at all — they just need to “look” better.
If I wanted to destroy independent dairy, I would do everything I could to consolidate the industry away from many small, independent producers, to a few large ones. All the while independent dairy farmers are suffering bankruptcy and suicide I would bloviate, “Help is on its way.” I may even throw out a few patronizing phrases like, “We appreciate”, “Just hold on a little longer”, and “We stand with”, just to make the small guys think I am on their side. Maybe I’d even create a campaign featuring the smiling faces of dairy producers, even as the circumstances I helped to create literally kills off their colleagues and liquidates their farms. I’d give the farmers T-shirts to commemorate their participation in my genocide.
If I wanted to destroy independent dairy, I would devise rules, restrictions, and create legislation that further drives a wedge between small, independent producers and their consumer base. I would make insurance impossible to obtain, or simply unaffordable. I would shake my head and cite safe food laws and health and safety in order to explain away this discrepancy — even as overall societal health deteriorates to historic lows.
I would ensure that when help finally does arrive in the form of an agricultural bailout or farm bill legislation, it will be specifically geared to help only the largest operators. I would do this, because I know that large-scale, factory-type agriculture is not sustainable, and will require continued subsidization as it deals with labor issues, manure waste management, and inevitable social litigation. I would absolutely support factory-type farming over independent farmers, because small farms are easy to liquidate, and I know that industrial agriculture is “Too big to Fail.” I want the large producers beholden to me.
Finally: Once the US dairy industry has consolidated itself into a few key producers and killed off the little guy, then — and only then — would I begin to encourage milk consumption. Acting all shocked and surprised, I would begin to promote the fact that milk is a superior hydrator, even better than water. I would talk about how chocolate milk is a superior post-workout recovery drink to sports beverages. I would open investigations into the soda/energy/sports drink industries and actually hold them liable for the meteoric rise in chronic illness. I would do this, and it would be easy, because I already knew before I began that consuming energy drinks increases the risk of heart failure by 200%.
Destroying independent farmers is a crucial first step toward complete market dominance, because strong, independent producers and a well-informed consumer base is exactly what I cannot afford to have. It would all be so easy, and I’m guessing my entire campaign would take less than a single generation.
— Dan Wegmueller is the owner of Wegmueller Farms and his column appears regularly in the Times. His website is https://www.
farmforthought.org.
