BREAKING NEWS: Federal Complaint Filed Over Alleged Money Laundering By Yes on Amendment One Campaign https://facebook/MOfoodforamerica (August 1, 2014) – The Missouri Farmers Union has sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture calling for a formal investigation into the potentially illegal use of federal check-off funds for lobbying by the Yes on Amendment One campaign. According to reports from the Missouri Ethics Commission, The Missouri Pork Association, which receives the state’s share of national pork check-off funds, and its affiliated Missouri Pork PAC, have collectively sent more than $235,000 in contributions to Missouri Farmers Care, the ballot committee supporting Amendment 1. These three entities operate from the exact same address. The financial shuffle between the affiliates is of great concern because most of the Missouri Pork Association’s annual revenue comes from federal check-off dollars, which are not allowed to be used for lobbying purposes. Under federal law, farmers of certain commodities (including beef, pork and soybeans) are required to pay a percentage of their sales into a check-off fund. These funds are intended to be used to promote the sale of farm products. The federal check-off funds are distributed to various state chapters, including the Missouri chapter. Federal law prohibits such funds from being used to influence policy in any way, including using federal monies to run a state ballot measure campaign. Wes Shoemyer, President of Missouri’s Food for America, said: “There simply is no way this adds up. The organizations working for the corporate interests based in New York and Beijing will apparently stoop to any low to push the Missouri family farmer off the land. They need to be held accountable to us as Missouri family farmers who pay this type of federal tax on every pig sold. We deserve to know if they have illegally used our own money to lobby against the interests of family farmers.” Missouri’s Food for America plans to file a Freedom of Information Act request with the USDA to find the money trail on check-off funds being funneled to a lobbying effort. FACTS: • Amendment One will be on the Missouri statewide ballot Tuesday, August 5. It seeks to enshrine into the Missouri Constitution a right for corporations and others to engage in any activities they consider “farming” for perpetuity. If passed, it would undermine even minimal protections for family farms, animals, and the environment, while producing contentious litigation. • Missouri’s Food for America is a broad coalition of family farmers, environmentalists, food safety advocates, animal welfare organizations, and concerned citizens who recognize the long-lasting, damaging effects of the “Right to Farm” amendment. It was formed to fight back against industrialized agriculture and factory farms. • Almost all state newspapers have editorialized against Amendment One. The Kansas City Star called Amendment One “a concerted effort to shield factory farms and concentrated agricultural feeding operations from regulations to protect livestock, consumers and the environment.” The Joplin Globe called it “a measure designed to protect corporate agriculture rather than the traditional family farm.” • According to Missouri Pork Association’s last submitted IRS Form 990 IRS filings, it is extremely unlikely that the organization can afford to contribute more than $200,000 to a political campaign without using prohibited federal check-off funds, or illegally funneling large contributions from multinational corporations through the organization. The filings declared zero revenue dollars from membership dues and revealed that most of the organization’s funding comes from the federal check-off program. https://facebook/MOfoodforamerica
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 22:47:52 +0000
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