THE WORLD'S LARGEST PORK PRODUCER, SMITHFIELD FOODS, IS A U.S. COMPANY.
BUT IT MIGHT NOT STAY THAT WAY, NOW THAT A CHINESE COMPANY IS MAKING MOVES TO BUY IT.
THE SALE IS NOT APPROVED YET, AND U.S. LAWMAKERS ARE STILL LOOKING AT WHAT THE TAKEOVER COULD
MEAN FOR THE U-S FOOD MARKET.
IN THIS ON ASSIGNMENT REWIND, VOA AGRICULTURE REPORTER STEVE BARAGONA TALKS WITH OUR DOUG
BERNARD ABOUT THE CONCERNS INVOLVED, AS WELL AS TRENDS IN THE FARMING INDUSTRY AS A WHOLE.
LET'S TAKE A LOOK.
YOU'VE BEEN ON LARGE-SCALE FARMS, YOU'VE BEEN ON VERY SMALL-SCALE FARMS.
WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT YOU NOTICE THAT ARE DIFFERENT ABOUT THESE TWO OPERATIONS?
WELL YOU KNOW WITH A SMALL FARM, THIS IS KIND OF WHAT WE THINK OF AS YOUR QUINTESSENTIAL
FARM.
AND THE LARGE FARMS ARE DEFINITELY, YOU KNOW, IT'S MORE OF AN INDUSTRIAL KIND OF OPERATION.
YOU'VE GOT YOU KNOW HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS OF ANIMALS INSIDE A BUILDING, THE BUILDING IS
TO A CERTAIN EXTENT CLIMATE-CONTROLLED, THE DISPOSAL OF WASTE IS CONTROLLED, IT DOESN'T
FEEL LIKE WHAT YOU THINK OF AS A FARM.
NOW WHAT WE THINK OF AS A FARM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A CERTAIN ELEMENT OF ROMANTICISM THAT
WE HAVE TO THIS KIND OF MYTHICAL PAST.
SIMPLE LIFE, PASTORAL SETTING, GENTLEMAN FARMER, THAT SORT OF THING.
THAT'S THE IDEA.
A GROWING NUMBER OF PEOPLE LIKE KEVIN SUMMERS IN AMISSVILLE ((AM-ISS-VILLE)), VIRGINIA,
ARE RETURNING TO SMALL-SCALE FARMING.
"IN ORDER TO FEED THE WORLD, I THINK THIS IS A BETTER WAY.
IT'S A CLEANER WAY.
IT'S A MORE HUMANE WAY."
MORE AMERICANS TODAY WANT TO KNOW WHERE THEIR FOOD COMES FROM.
AND THEY LIKE THE PERSONAL TOUCH THAT SUMMERS GIVES HIS HOGS.
"I CAN SEE THE ENTIRE PROCESS UNFOLD BEFORE MY EYES AND KNOW THAT THEY HAD A GOOD LIFE
AND WERE HEALTHY AND HAPPY."
SO LARGE SCALE FARMS ARE EFFICIENT, THEY'RE MORE PROFITABLE.
WHY WOULD PEOPLE THEN WANT TO GO, SAY IN PORK PRODUCTION, WHY WOULD THEY WANT TO GO BACK
TO A SMALL-SCALE FARM?
WELL, THERE'S A LOT OF...A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE DON'T LIKE ABOUT THE LARGE SCALE,
WHEN YOU HAVE THAT MANY ANIMALS IN A SMALL SPACE, THEY CREATE A LOT OF POLLUTION.
YOU'VE GOT TO DEAL WITH THE WASTE SOMEHOW.
AND THERE'S...THE USE OF ANTIBIOTICS IS A CONCERN.
THERE'S ACTUALLY A FAIRLY STRONG ANIMAL RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN THIS COUNTRY THAT SEES SOME OF
THE PRACTICES AS INHUMANE.
AND, YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS THE SMALL SCALE FARMS, I THINK THE PEOPLE WHO GO INTO THAT KIND OF
FARMING FEEL A REAL PASSION FOR THE FOOD SYSTEM, FOR THE QUALITY OF THE FOOD.
I MEAN, THEY RAVE ABOUT THE FLAVOR, CHEFS RAVE ABOUT THE FLAVOR, PEOPLE WHO REALLY KNOW
WHAT PORK SHOULD TASTE LIKE ALWAYS GO FOR THE KINDS OF PIGS THAT ARE RAISED IN SMALL
SCALE FARMS, BECAUSE THEY EAT A MORE COMPLEX DIET.
IT REALLY DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU'RE GOING FOR.
CHINA HAS RECENTLY SAID THAT THEY'RE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING
SMITHFIELD, WHICH IS THE LARGEST U.S. PORK PRODUCER.
WHY WOULD THEY WANT TO DO THAT?
GETTING A COMPANY LIKE SMITHFIELD WOULD BE A REAL ASSET FOR THEM, BECAUSE SMITHFIELD
IS THE WORLD'S LARGEST PORK PRODUCER, SO THEY HAVE HUGE TECHNOLOGIES OF SCALE, OR ECONOMIES
OF SCALE, SO THEY CAN PRODUCE A LARGE AMOUNT FOR...INEXPENSIVELY.
THERE
WAS A HEARING ON CAPITOL HILL THAT LOOKED AT THIS AND SAID...
THERE WAS A LOT OF SKEPTICISM FROM THE SENATORS AT THIS HEARING.
A LOT OF SKEPTICISM.
THERE ARE CONCERNS THAT THE CHINESE WILL DO, AS THEY HAVE DONE SUCCESSFULLY IN OTHER INDUSTRIES,
THEY WILL ADOPT THIS TECHNOLOGY AND EXPORT IT TO OUR LARGEST PORK CONSUMER, JAPAN, WHICH
IS OF COURSE RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO CHINA.
THIS IS POTENTIALLY A FOOD SECURITY ISSUE FOR THE U.S. WOULD CHINA BUY SMITHFIELD, AND
THEN EXPORT ALL OF SMITHFIELD'S PORK TO CHINA?
THEREBY RAISING THE PRICE OF PORK IN THE U.S. THERE ARE FOLKS WHO RAISE FOOD SAFETY CONCERNS.
THERE HAVE CERTAINLY BEEN PROBLEMS WITH FOOD SAFETY IN CHINA, AND HAVING A CHINESE COMPANY
IN CHARGE OF A U.S. COMPANY RAISES CONCERNS, ALTHOUGH, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE SAY THAT WELL,
THEY WOULD STILL BE SUBJECT TO ALL THE U.S. LAWS ON FOOD SAFETY.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT RAISES CONCERNS.
VOA AGRICULTURE REPORTER STEVE BARAGONA.
HONG KONG-BASED SHUANGHUI INTERNATIONAL HAS MADE A $4.7 BILLION DOLLAR OFFER TO BUY SMITHFIELD
FOODS, BUT THIS STORY HAS TAKEN A NEW TWIST.
RIGHT ... SMITHFIELD HAS SCHEDULED A SPECIAL SHAREHOLDER MEETING IN LATE SEPTEMBER TO VOTE
ON THE PROPOSED TAKEOVER, BUT REPORTS INDICATE OTHER INVESTORS MAY BE WILLING TO PAY MORE
FOR SMITHFIELD THAN SHANGHUI HAS OFFERED.
SO THE MERGER -- WHICH WOULD BE THE BIGGEST TAKEOVER OF A U.S. COMPANY BY A CHINESE ONE
-- IS FAR FROM A DONE DEAL.