MODERN-DAY SERFS - Foodopoly: The Battle Over the Future of Food and Farming in America - page 127

In March 1999, citing a series of articles in the Baltimore Sun outlining the chicken growers' plight,
Michael V. Dunn, the USDA's undersecretary of marketing and regulatory programs, said, “We desperately
need those additional funds, and we need some more teeth [in the law] to do something to assist these pro-
ducers out there.” 48
Yet more than a decade later, the situation has only grown worse, because of the increased political
power and influence of the poultry industry. Confronting this industry is not just a matter of justice for
growers, chicken catchers, and slaughterhouse workers; it goes beyond addressing the horrendous pollu-
tion that is destroying waterways and leading to the largest estuary in the country, the Chesapeake Bay,
becoming a dead zone.
Changing the behavior of the poultry industry requires building the political power to reestablish an-
titrust regulation and enforcement. It means dealing head-on with an industry that is willing to sacrifice
the environment, people's health, and the lives of its workforce to increase profitability. We must take this
challenge on—because it is a matter of survival.