'Supermarket war', low prices and the results for farmer and environment
MilkWatch

On Friday, November 21st 2003, the LTO, the largest farmers' organisation in the Netherlands, started a project called 'Milkwatch'. It boils down to farmers monitoring the price of milk in Dutch supermarkets, and taking action when the price of their milk is too low. This initiative is the LTO's answer to the price war which is currently being fought in Dutch supermarkets at the cost of farmers, small shop keepers, the environment and food quality. After the reform of its common agricultural policy in 2006, the EU partially withdrew from intervening in food prices. No longer does the EU determine the price of milk by buying and selling every litre of milk produced by the farmer. In these modern times the EU grants subsidies for 'good environmental and agricultural practice' and doesn't officially interfere in prices anymore. This has led to a vacuum around the prices of agricultural products, clearing the field for the free market to determine the price of these products. There is an alternative to supermarket and superstate power; it is called self-organisation. This is exactly what milk watch is, farmers trying to manage their own production and determine the price of their own labour themselves. We support this initiative enthusiastically.

LTO Milkwatch page (in dutch): www.lto.nl/Actueel/milkwatch/milkwatch.htm
More info in English about 'What's Wrong with Supermarkets_'on the site of Corporate Watch:
www.corporatewatch.org.uk/pages/whats_wrong_suprmkts.htm