National Farmers Union President Rob Larew told a House committee this week pandemic related disruptions have exposed underlying weaknesses in the nation’s farm and food system. The Organization for Competitive Markets shares those concerns. O-C-M Interim Executive Director Ben Gotschall agrees with Larew that one of the main contributors to supply chain delays and food shortages has been widespread corporation consolidation, especially in the meatpacking industry.

He says one of the possible solutions to this problem and to the meatpacking concentration problem is having more smaller processors in business to take up the slack caused by those disruptions.

Gotschall says his group is also engaged on helping put together legislation to address pandemic disruption and concentration concerns.

Gotschall and Larew both say it’s important to have policies that would stem the tide of consolidation and build our regional food infrastructure.