Over the weekend (Nov. 7), the Des Moines Register reported that retail giant Walmart is looking to increase the sustainability of its grocery items by providing its customers with more local and organic foods. Paula Crossfield at Civil Eats has been keeping close tabs on Walmart’s efforts (Oct. 22) and what its actions might bode for traditional agribusiness. She drills down into the specific and desperate-sounding tactics agribiz plans to employ to convince consumers of the benefits of their products:

 In fact, agribusiness elites have been trying either covertly or otherwise to convince the consumer that sustainable food advocates have misled them into thinking the current food system is unsafe, unjust and unhealthy. And the evidence shows that more of the same is coming down the pipeline.

 Just last month, the subscriber newsletter Agri-Pulse reported that Tip Tipton – the man behind the “Got Milk?” campaign – has been tapped to create an “ag image” campaign that seeks “to reverse consumers’ negative perceptions about a broad range of issues including so-called ‘factory farming,’ the use of agricultural chemicals, livestock management practices, processed ‘industrial food,’ and high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).” The amount the parties involved feel would be needed to reverse the tide of “consumer backlash”? Twenty to 30 million dollars per year. These groups hope to get funding from companies like Monsanto and Cargill and will be seeking out commodity check-off program funding via commodity growers if possible.

The $30 million dollar industrial ag PR campaign reported on by Civil Eats and Agri-pulse was made public yesterday (Nov 11).  American Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman will lead the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA), which appears to be a coordinated big-money effort to unite all of Big Ag’s many tentacles.

Despite this news, the Ag Lobby is making head-scratching assertions about how their poor fiscal health prevents them from fighting back against its critics and increasingly skeptical consumers.