POLICY MEMORANDUM 2: ISSUE AND INTEREST GROUP ANALYSIS

  POLICY MEMORANDUM 2: 
 ISSUE AND INTEREST GROUP ANALYSIS 
This assignment is designed to: 
 1. Improve your policy analysis skills by improving your ability to identify interest groups that are stakeholders in the food and agricultural policy process. 
 2. Improve your understanding of the organization and role of interest groups in the policymaking process. 
 3. Develop your ability to write memoranda for decision makers on an issue. 
 Rules: 
1. A help session will be held after class on Wednesday, February 27. Please ask questions before the assignment is due – no questions will be answered in the week of the due date. 
 2. Your memorandum is due on WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13 at 500pm EST. Only submissions through the D2L drop-box will be accepted. Late penalties are described in the syllabus. 
 3. The two interest groups selected for this assignment must be from two parts of the agri-food system. For example, you may analyze one farm interest group and one food manufacturing interest group, but you may not analyze two food retailing interest groups.   You must choose interest groups for this analysis -- you may not choose government agencies (e.g., the Department of Agriculture or the Environmental Protection Agency) or individual companies (e.g., Hershey’s or ADM) for this analysis.  If you are unsure whether an interest group you have chosen is appropriate for this assignment, print some information from the group’s website and ask me about the group. 
 
I will be lenient in permitting a wide range of interest groups and policy issues to be included in this assignment, but the groups and issues must be related to the agri-food system.  I am willing to permit such issues as “cloning,” or “estate taxes” as food policy issues (if the group has a position on a food or agricultural aspect of the issue), but I will not accept issues such as gun rights or the Syrian war as agri-food system issues.  
4. Be sure to see the section of the course pack on interest groups (pages 24-32) to review the concepts relevant to this assignment. 
 5. Your grade will be determined by the quality of your analysis and the quality of your communication (spelling, grammar, organization, clarity). See the Memorandum Writing Guidelines on D2L for memoranda style. 
 6. You may work on this assignment alone or in a team of two.  If you work in a team of two, then both partners are subject to the “joint and several liability rule” discussed in the syllabus. 
 7. The next three pages provide background information for the memorandum.  Combine this information with the material discussed in class to write your memorandum. 
February 23, 2019  
TO:  You 
 FROM:  Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue S.P. 
 SUBJECT: Request for interest group analysis 
 I will be meeting with interest groups that lobby the USDA and members of Congress on a wide range of public policy issues. These groups represent a wide range of farm, agribusiness, food industry, environmental, and consumer interests. 
 Please write a memorandum that I can use to prepare for a meeting with two of these interest groups.  This memorandum should provide as much detail as you can find about the two interest groups.  Be sure to include the following for each group:  
-The name, location and any history available for the group. 
 - The number and type of members in the group.  Be sure to explain whether the membership includes individuals, corporations, or both. 
 
- The level of the agri-food system represented by the group. 
 
- The selective goods/benefits provided by the group to its members. 
 
-The major food, agricultural, environmental, and consumer policy issues of concern to the members of the group and the positions taken by the group on these issues. 
 Please conclude your memorandum by comparing the two groups and discussing the major similarities and differences in the groups= organization and policy objectives.  If there are policy issues on which the groups are likely to agree or disagree, please identify these issues.  
 Attachment: USDA staff research report 
USDA STAFF RESEARCH REPORT: 
 SOURCES OF INFORMATION ON INTEREST GROUPS 
 Several sources can be used to start your search for information on interest groups in the agri-food system. The following are some of the sources that you may want to use in your research.  To find information about the group, look under links such as “About Us,” or “Membership Benefits,” or “Government Affairs,” or “Regulatory Affairs,” or “Public Affairs” or “Legislative Affairs.”  You will probably find more information about national groups than state or local groups.  You should avoid international or foreign interest groups.  
 Webpages for trade associations and interest groups can be found at the following addresses: 
 1. The USDA has a list of dietetic, nutrition, and food service interest groups at: 
 https://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/professional-and-career-resources-0  
  When you arrive at this page, use the links to “Associations and Foundations” or “Dietetic Associations” or “Food Science and Technology” to find related groups. 
 2. Wikipedia has a general list of trade associations (interest groups) including farm, agribusiness, and food industry groups: 
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_industry_trade_groups_in_the_United_States   
Note: Many of the groups listed are not related to the agri-food system and would not be appropriate for this assignment.  Be sure to choose an appropriate group.  
3. The Food Institute has links to food and agribusiness interest groups:   
https://www.foodinstitute.com  
 When you arrive at this page, click on “FI Resources” and then on “National and Regional Associations” to arrive at a list of groups.  
Note: The Food Institute is not an interest group and is not appropriate for this assignment. 
 4.  The website allfoodsbusiness.com includes links to trade associations in the food industry: 
  http://www.allfoodbusiness.com/national_assoc.php 
  5. Wikipedia provides a list of environmental and conservation organizations: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_environmental_and_conservation_organizations_in_the_United_States  
 Note: Many of the groups listed in this section are not related to the agri-food system and are not appropriate for this assignment.  The government agencies listed on this website also are not appropriate for this assignment. Be sure to choose an appropriate group. 
 6. Several consumer interest groups lobby on food and agricultural issues. These are some of the major consumer interest groups: 
 Center for Science in the Public Interest 
http://www.cspinet.org/  
 Consumer Federation of America 
http://www.consumerfed.org  
 Public Citizen (particularly their Health and Safety Group and their Globalization and Trade Group) 
http://www.citizen.org  
 Organic Consumers Association 
http://www.organicconsumers.org  
 Union of Concerned Scientists 
http://www.ucsusa.org  
 Food and Water Watch http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/ . 
MEMORANDUM 2 
GRADING RUBRIC  Name(s):__________________________  
 Does memorandum meet page, margin and font requirements?    Yes____  No____ (return) 
 Does memorandum discuss government agencies or companies 
 rather than interest groups?     Yes_____          No_____ (return)  
         Group:  One  Two 
 Group name, location, and history 
Includes name, location, and history of groups  2 points  _____  _____ 
 Does not include name, location and history of groups   0 points  _____  _____ 
 Comments  
 Group membership 
Includes number of members and whether membership 
   includes individuals, corporations, or both   2 points  _____  _____ 
Provides some information on number of members and whether 
   membership includes individuals, corporations, or both  1 points  _____  _____ 
Comments  
   Selective benefits 
Includes detailed information on ‘issue of interest’ or selective benefits provided 
   to members       2 points  _____  _____ 
Includes some/most information on issues or selective benefits provided    to members       1 points  _____  _____ 
Comments: 
Positions on policy issues  
Includes detailed analysis of group’s position on policy issues  2 points  _____  _____ 
Includes some analysis of group’s position on issues, 
   but fails to provide adequate detail    1 points  _____  _____ 
Includes no analysis of group’s position on policy issues   0 points  _____  _____ 
Comments: 
    Conclusion and comparison of groups 
Provides detailed comparison of groups and identifies 
   areas of possible agreement/disagreement    2 points  _____ 
Provides some comparison of group or identifies    some areas of possible agreement/disagreement   1 points  _____ 
Comments: 
    Quality of communication  
There are no points for correct grammar. However, points will be deducted for incorrect spelling and grammar.
Memorandum contains: 
  Spelling and grammar error: 2.5 point penalty/ error.  _____ 
  Factually incorrect statements in memo: 5 point penalty/item   _____ 
  Memo poorly  organized, e.g. long paragraphs, poor flow.  2 point penalty  _____ 
Comments:  
 TOTAL: _____/10