Illustration by Daniel Pudles Modern government could be interpreted as a device for projecting corporate power. Since the 1980s, in Britain, the US and other nations, the primary mission of governments has been to grant their sponsors in the private sector ever greater access to public money and public life.There are several means by which they do so: the privatisation and outsourcing of public services; the stuffing of public committees with corporate executives; and the reshaping of laws and regulations to favour big business. In the UK, the Health and Social Care Act extends the corporate domain in ways unimaginable even five years ago.With these increasing powers come diminishing obligations. Through repeated cycles of deregulation, governments release big business from its duty of care towards ... Continue reading →
Carl Gray, who raises beef cattle on around 340 hectares (830 acres) of rolling countryside near Tewkesbury, was surprised to get the letter. It came from Vion, the abattoir and cutting factory where he sends his organic cattle for processing for Tesco. Vion is a Dutch farmer-owned company that has emerged from a series of takeovers as the UK's largest slaughterer of meat. Although little known to UK consumers, most of us have eaten its products; it supplies nearly all of the major retailers with chicken, beef, lamb and pork.Without ceremony the letter in March informed Gray that Vion would be changing its systems to pay him not through his co-operative as currently but direct in future and asked for his bank details. It also ... Continue reading →