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y Don Humphries

OTTAWA (CUP) — Wander through your local

permarket or comer store some day and take a look at (I e variety of brands in the' dairy products and salad

1 essing shelves. You’ll find small Kraftco lables on almost r l cheeses, and salad dressings.

Kraftco Corporation has a virtual monomply in this area f the food industry; it either makes the products itself or wns subsidiaries that do.

‘ The National Farmers’ Union has taken on this ( onopolistic giant in a boycott that is intensifying across - e country as it enters a second year.

The Boycott was called in response to dairy farmers’ emands for better prices for their products through a

ollective bargaining agreement and the refusal by Kraft to iscuss the matter with the NFU.

The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) was founded in 969 with support coming mainly from western Canada. ince then it has spread across the country organizing locals nd carrying out militant actions to backfarmers’ demands.

The NFU is fiting to enable farmers to negotiate in egional groups or on the national level with marketing v cards and processors for the prices paid on farm products,

( d with suppliers for the prices paid on material inputs.

At present, farmers do not have such rights and must ccept whatever they are offered for their products by the ( arketing boards and corporate business. Farmers have ften been 'forced to sell their products at below (1 roduction cost.

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The NFU says that unless the present system is changed, the Task Force on Agriculture’s goal of removing two-thirds of the present number of farm operators and replacing them with corporate farms will be achieved.

Collective bargaining is the vehicle” to stop rural depopulation and strengthen rural communities, says the farmers’ organization.

.. Locals are encouraged to formulate policy for their area and the national good of all farmers since local decision-making is an important part of NFU policy.

The: National Farmers’ Union president Roy Atkinson puts it this way: , _

“It seems to us to make much more sense to move to a position where you decentralize your population into self-sufficient units. And to maintain on their own peOple who have to make day-to-day decisions, rather than tie everyone to a time clock and become part of the industrial machine.”

The Kraft Boycott is important to the NFU because it is the means through which farmers may obtain collective bargaining rights.

Until now, the precise reasons for making Kraft the victim of a boycott have been unclear to may people. The historical development and implications of the Boycott have now been compiled and can be coherently outlined.

In I966 there were 22,206 dairy farmers in Ontario; by 1971, 7664 of them had been squeezed out of business. In the last two-and-a-half years, 44 Canadian co-op and independent cheese faétories closed down. They handled a combined volume of 600 million pounds of industrial milk.

While that was happening, Kraft received a $250,000 interest-free, 'forgiveable loan from the Ontario government to build an addition to its lngleside Ontario plant. (A forgiveable loan does not have to be paid back.)

The same company that was virtually given a quarter-of-a-million dollars is the largest North American dairy monopoly. The American-owned corporation has branch plants in more than 100 countries — it controls 80 per cent of the Canadian cheese production.

ln I970, Kraft move corporation in North Am and a net profit of $82, increased to $9| ,3000,0 Was $318,000.

Kraft’s total sales ran

. Packers monopoly in the

net profits more than thr ln I969, Kraft spent '. second largest television a Meanwhile, the fame steadily decreassed from I970. Between I968 and by $|37 million or eigh food prices increased b farmer’s average net inco ; Ontario dairy farmers Ontario Milk Marketing elected by farmers, but government appointed 0 The OMMB also all factories may receive thr I969. Each processor w bought and sold, th monopolies to take over ‘ ln Leeds County nea once 92 small plants; the co-op is one.

' Local dairy farmers b invested $60,000 to ma In 1970 the co-op paid members. Its location all milk to the pland fOr c0 it to the closest Kraft or

The new quota syste four million pounds of processed a year earlier. I — who are in turn operat'

:penalizes them for prod

required by law to ship t the Ontario Milk Mar

‘ for milk’ fluctuates great]

in a one-year period f milk: '

Januar

septem

Februa

While the'consumer

milk products, the prices

The NFU approached

the Ontario Marketing

7 Marketing Board with 5‘

not paid enough forl'thei the corporations could of the enormous profits 1 The government ag couldn’t be done. i To bring attention '-

.were also NFU members 7 Kraft lngleside plant '

culmination of sevente ‘ farmers held throughout