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Special Tribute to Al Krebs
Al Krebs, a founding member
of the Alliance for Democracy, is remembered for
his tireless fight against corporate agriculture
and for family farms. He wrote the definitive
work, The Corporate Reapers: The Book of
Agribusiness, and in later years put out the
weekly e-mail newsletter The Agribusiness
Examiner. We will all miss Al. In honor of this
indomitable man, it’s time to redouble our
efforts in fighting corporate power.
Alliance members
remember Al as a founding member of the Alliance
for Democracy. He spoke at the founding
convention in late November 1996 where more that
250 people from across the country gathered in
the same Texas Hill Country where the first
populist movement was spawned in the 1870s by
farmer defending their rights against corporate
rights and economic devastation. He was a member
of AfD's National Council from 1996 to 2000 and
chair of the Alliance's early Agriculture
Campaign.
On July 4, 1998, Al and Ronnie Dugger,
Co-founder of the Alliance, each drafted
separate, but similar documents titled a
“Declaration of Independence from Corporate
Rule.” (Al's copy,
Download)
They each read their version in front of
Constitution Hall in Philadelphia.
In early October 1998, Al participated in a
forum titled “Udder Fraud: Genetic engineering,
growth hormones and dairy cows. What giant
agribusiness doesn’t want you to know” organized
by members of the Sacramento and Davis AfD
Chapters. The forum was held in Sacramento,
Davis, Santa Rosa and San Francisco at a time
when genetic engineering was under attack,
especially bovine growth hormone for milk
production.
Al participated in this forum, along with Ronnie
Dugger, Founder and then Co-chair of AfD, Jane
Akre and Steve Wilson, the award-winning TV
investigative reporters whose 1997 Fox News
story on Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) in Florida
dairy herds was killed by Monsanto. They were
later fired for refusing to alter the news and
sued that station for rigging the news and
suppressing information. Anuradha Mittal and
Peter Rossert, at the time both with Food First
also participated.
At the time, both UC Davis and UC Berkeley were
contemplating agreements with Monsanto that
manufactures and sells rBGH, and Novartis,
respectively; the UC Davis/Monsanto agreement
was not signed at the time, while the one
between Novartis and UC Berkeley was signed over
loud faculty and student protests and recently
was not re-approved by mutual agreement.
At the Alliance convention, Spring 1999 in
Boulder. Colorado, Al organized a “Food and
Agriculture Day” on April 29. Many of Al’s
friends, who now remember him so fondly
participated: John Hansen, Baldemar Velasquez,
Joseph Petulla, Clara Oleson, Wes Jackson,
Kathleen Kelly Sullivan, Hope Shand, Mark
Ritchie, Ben Kjelshus, William Heffernan, and
Mary Hendrickson. A DVD of this day and the
Udder Fraud conference may be available soon.
Al’s unique writing style - at once personal,
relaxed and learned- is revealed in a review he
wrote three years ago titled: “Water,
Land and Cotton – Unmasking a Secret American
Empire” The King of California. The King
of California: J. G. Boswell and the Making of A
Secret American Empire (2003).
Heather Gray captures the remarkable talents and
spirit of Al Krebs in her memorial tribute:
“Seek the Fact, Agitate and Raise Hell:Al
Krebs, a Fighter for Family Farmers.”
Special
Tributes to Al Krebs 1932 – 2007
“Al
Krebs, Champion of family farms”
“Al Krebs, a Fighter for Family Farmers”
“Farm
Aid says Goodbye to Al Krebs”
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