Under capitalism, the control and production of goods and services are available to the highest bidder. This means that workers pay inflated prices and the wealthy become ever wealthier. When a basic human right like food is produced as a commodity to be sold, hunger, starvation and “food-insecurity” become permanent conditions in society. Far from being part of the natural order of things in today’s world, this outmoded and illogical organization is upheld by the wealthy few who own the means of production and distribution—including men like Gregory R. Page, CEO of Cargill Inc.
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Cargill Inc. is a privately held multinational corporation. Because it is privately held, it is not traded openly on the stock exchange and operates with even fewer restrictions than publicly traded companies. Because it is multinational, it is able to plunder profits from the labor of workers across the globe. It is a major purchaser, processor and distributor of livestock feed, grain and other agricultural products.
Under the leadership of Page, Cargill declared over $120 billion in revenue for the 2008 fiscal year, up from $88.3 billion the previous year. This drastic increase was not due to Page’s innovation or creativity. It was due to a combination of the continued eradication of small farmers, the capitalist economic crisis and overall skyrocketing food prices.
Cargill does not produce the grain that it sells but purchases it. Therefore, Page and company are able to buy up enormous amounts of foodstuffs cheaply and trade and sell them at inflated prices, robbing small farmers and keeping workers and poor people all over the world completely dependent upon them.
Earlier this year, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez ordered the expropriation of Cargill’s rice-processing facilities in Venezuela. In 2008, the Venezuelan government intervened to guarantee food-security to all citizens in response to the widespread food crisis. Chávez made the move after it was discovered that Cargill was evading Venezuelan price-controls by processing pre-cooked rice.
Page has belligerently pursued the patenting of seeds. It is not enough for him to own vast reserves of grain and feed, he must also own the sole right to the genetic information contained within the seeds! With ownership of this information comes the right to sue farmers who cultivate such products without paying, even those who do so unknowingly.
It is evident that the capitalists’ drive for profit knows no bounds. Only a revolutionary movement that places the needs of workers above the greed of owners can effectively combat the cold logic of capital.
