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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 10, 2010
12:49 PM

CONTACT: Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement

David Goodner, Iowa CCI, 515.282.0484, david@iowacci.org
Dave Murphy, Food Democracy Now!, 917.968.7369, dave@fooddemocracynow.org
Patty Lovera, Food and Water Watch, 202.683.2465, plovera@fwwatch.org
Kathy Ozer, National Family Farm Coalition, 202.421.4544, kozer@nffc.net
Siena Chrisman, World Hunger Year, 1.800.5.HUNGRY. siena@whyhunger.org
Corey Owens, United Food and Commercial Workers Union, 202.905.2179. cowens@ufcw.org

March 11 Townhall to Take On Corporate Power in Our Food System

Townhall meeting in Ankeny, IA one day prior to the March 12 federal anti-trust workshop will push DOJ, USDA, and Congress to bust up big ag and put people first

DES MOINES, Iowa - March 10 - A coalition of local, state, and national community, consumer, farmer, and labor organizations will hold a townhall meeting, "Unleash Food Democracy:  Taking on Corporate Power in our Food System", Thursday, March 11, at 7pm at the Best Western Hotel in Ankeny, Iowa, as a response to the joint U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) anti-trust workshop in Ankeny on Friday, March 12. 

Who:  Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (Iowa CCI), Food Democracy Now!, National Family Farms Coalition, Food and Water Watch, and allied organizations

What:  Unleash Food Democracy:  Taking on Corporate Power in our Food System townhall meeting

Where:  Best Western Hotel in Ankeny, IA

When:  Thursday, March 11, 7pm

Why:  To bust up big ag and put people before profits and polluters

 

The townhall meeting on March 11 - the night before the DOJ/USDA anti-trust workshop on March 12 - is meant to ensure that the voices of family farmers, consumers, organized labor, and everyday people are heard and will feature testimony from leaders in the national food democracy movement, including: 

  • Barb Kalbach, a fourth-generation family farmer and Iowa CCI member from Dexter, Iowa;
  • George Naylor, a grain farmer and Iowa CCI member from Churdan, Iowa;
  • Paul Rozwadowski, a dairy farmer and National Family Farms Coalition member from Stanley, Wisconsin;
  • Rhonda Perry, a livestock farmer with the Missouri Rural Crisis Center;
  • Patty Lovera of Food and Water Watch;
  • Sienna Chrisman of World Hunger Year; and
  • Mark Lauritsen from the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.

John Moreland, a staffer from Senator Tom Harkin's office, and Fred Schuster, a staffer from Senator Chuck Grassley's office, will join hundreds of people from across Iowa and the US at the townhall meeting along with invited DOJ and USDA staff.  The majority of the townhall meeting will be devoted to a public comment period.  

For more information, contact Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement at 515.282.0484 or iowa@iowacci.org

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Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement is a group of everyday people who talk, act and get things done on issues that matter most. With thousands of members from all walks of life -- urban and rural, black and white, immigrants and lifelong Iowans -- CCI has been tackling tough issues and getting things done for more than 30 years.