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Following in the foodsteps of the Packaged Foods Exposed series, the Agri-Business Exposed series will explore the major agricultural companies whose names are rarely heard by the eating public.

The ingredients entering into the staples of our diet rarely, if ever, originate from the company that produced the final product. Behind the Krafts, Nestles, Coca-Colas and Pizza Huts of the world, are the large corporations that deal with the most important person in the process; the farmer.

The Cargill Exposé
It is fitting to launch this series by exploring the most influential and powerful agri-business in the world; Cargill. As one of the largest private companies in the world, Cargill's $75.2 billion in sales employs 149,000 people in 63 countries. But the Minnesota-based company utilizes a strategy that situates much of their presence behind the scenes, and upon addressing the scope of this company's influence, their operations and products make their sales figures and employment statistics close to meaningless. Cargill sets the stage for agriculture and food around the world, and a better understanding of this company, is a better understanding of our dinners.

On this Part II of the Cargill Exposé, we tackle topics of child slave labour in the West African cocoa industry, we raise questions over how Cargill's High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) has played a role in the global obesity and diabetes epidemics, and we discover how the company was able to arrive in Canada in 1989, and now assume 50% control of Canada's beef.

Guests for Part II of the 2-part Cargill Exposé

Cam Ostercamp, President, Beef Initiative Group Canada (B.I.G.) (Blackie, AB) - The organization was formed in 2004 to be a voice for primary producers of beef in Canada. As Cargill is the most influential company in the Canadian beef industry, Cam's experience as both a farmer and President of B.I.G., provides him with a comprehensive background on the influence exercised by the company.

Brian Campbell, Staff Attorney, International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF) (Washington, D.C.) - ILRF is an advocacy organization dedicated to achieving just and humane treatment for workers worldwide. The organization is currently targeting the child labour practices in the West African cocoa industry that company's like Cargill are said to support. Brian Campbell began working with the ILRF as a law clerk in 2001 and was hired as a full time attorney upon graduation from law school in 2004.

Brewster Kneen, Author/Publisher, The Ram's Horn (Ottawa, ON) - Brewster was born in Ohio and studied economics and theology in the U.S. and the U.K. before moving to Toronto in 1965. There he produced public affairs programs for CBC Radio, and worked as a consultant to the churches on issues of social and economic justice. In 1971, with his wife Cathleen and their children Jamie and Rebecca, he moved to Nova Scotia, where they farmed until 1986, starting with a cow-calf operation and then developing a large commercial sheep farm. When he stopped farming, he developed a devoted interest to learn more about Cargill than perhaps anyone has ever attempted. The second edition of his book "Invisible Giant" (2002), provides the most current and comprehensive source for any eater interested in learning more about the origins of our food.

Transcript

• Cargill
• Cargill Canada
• International Labor Rights Funds (ILRF)
• ILRF - cocoa kids
• ILRF - Child Labor in the Cocoa Industry
• Beef Initiative Group (B.I.G.)
• Invisible Giant
• Corn Refiners Association
• HFCS Facts
• Pluto Press
• Brewster Kneen's Cargill Profile
• Cargill's HFCS
• Cargill Health and Food Technologies
• Cargill - Cocoa Industry Labor
• Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)
• The Ram's Horn
• Save the Children Canada
• World Cocoa Foundation (Industry-sponsored)

• Better Beef
• Saskferco
• Cargill AgHorizons
• Agribrands Purina
• Prarie Malt Ltd.
• Cargill Speciality Canola Oils
• Horizon Milling
• Egg Solutions
• Wilbur Chocolate
• Fennema
• Gerkens Cacao
• Peter's Chocolate
• Progressive Baker

Cocoa/Chocolate

• ILRF Ethical Chocolate Guide
• "Where Does All Our Chocolate Come From?" - Stop The Traffik

High Fructose Corn Syrup - Industry Connected Articles / Studies / Groups Referred to during Broadcast

• "Facts About Fructose and Obesity"
• "Nutrition Today Articles Bring Much-Needed Perspective to High Fructose Corn Syrup in the Obesity Debate"
• "Researchers Find HFCS and Sucrose Affect Blood Glucose, Insulin, Leptin and Ghrelin Similarly"
• "Scientific Experts Conclude HFCS Is NOT A Unique Contributor to Obesity"
• Nutrition Today
• Rippe Health
• Yum! Brands
• Yum! Brands - Nutritional Information
• Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA)
• Center for Food, Nutrition and Agricultural Policy (CERES)

High Fructose Corn Syrup

• "CSPI's Litigation Project Forces Change By Two Major Food Companies" - Public Citizen
• "Clinical study on Cargill's Barliv^TM Barley Beta-Glucan..." - Cargill
• "The Murky World of High-Fructose Corn Syrup" - Weston A. Price Foundation
• "The Double Danger of High Fructose Corn Syrup" - Weston A. Price Foundation
• "The Projection of Prevalence and Cost of Diabetes in Canada: 2000 to 2016" - Canadian Journal of Diabetes
• "Corn syrup linked to diabetes" - BioEd Online
• "Sugar coated - We're drowning in high fructose coryn syrup" - San Francisco Chronicle
• "I'm Hatin' It - How the feds make bad-for-you food cheaper than healthful fare" - Grist
• "How Sweet Treats May Lead to Obesity" - Healthology

Beef

• "Lifting the Veil" - B.I.G.
• "Behind the Veil of Science" - B.I.G.
• "Cargill's dominance a concern" - Western Producer
• "Packers Taking Advantage of BSE Crisis" - NFU
• "Bum Steer" - Globe and Mail
• "Submission to the Federal Competition Bureau regarding the proposed takeover of Better Beef Ltd. by Cargill" - NFU

• "Cargill - arrogance incorporated" - Corporate Watch
• "Control by the Food Cartel Companies" - EIR
• "Cargill and price fixing" - Oligopoly Watch

• Bitter Chocolate - Carol Off