USA: Food and Environment Reporting Network (FERN)
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 199 Document Number: D09876
Notes:
Via FERN website. 7 pages., Addresses the broad issue of "fake news" through a case example focused on reporting at the "complex intersection of the meatpacking industry, immigration, the rise of fake news, and the changing face of America's heartland." The example focuses on reporting about Somali and other refugees working at a meat packing plant near Garden City, Kansas.
"Farmers' lack of market power is the real enemy, so farmers and ranchers must work together to gain bargaining power, because, without it, independent farmers have little hope of survival." Mentions issue of farm organizations, agricultural trade and commodity groups misrepresenting their interests to Congress and policy makers by posing as the family farmer.
Via online from publisher., Editor addresses a state governor's agenda at the expense of the beef industry, illustrating a continuing "struggle with the divide between urban and rural communities."
