Security for agriculture merits serious concern by not only the agricultural community but our nation as a whole. The risk to the U.S. food supply and overall economy is real.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
A safe, affordable and plentiful supply of food is a national security issue.
The reasons for food insecurity are many and varied. But part of the problem is the global farming systems.
Science, innovation, safety and affordability. Who could oppose United States food policy based on these core principles? Unfortunately, this idea has become unnecessarily controversial in agriculture.
Innovations that are guided by smallholder farmers, adapted to local circumstances, and sustainable for the economy and environment will be necessary to ensure food security in the future.
Crop insurance should be a policy that keeps people from going broke, to make sure they can farm next year, but not to make them rich.
I am committed to strengthening our agricultural economy by protecting the unique interests of small and medium size family farms so that they can continue to operate.
We are doing everything we can to protect the food supply. And I can tell you that we're making decisions based upon sound science and good public policy, given the circumstances that we are now in.
We need to make sure the Department of Agriculture is promoting farmers and ranchers.
Now listen, the one thing about agriculture is we've lost our manufacturing, we've lost a great deal of jobs overseas, lots of our industry. The last thing in the world we need to do is lose the ability to produce our food.
The focus of Congress is on keeping the nation secure - and it doesn't see that food security is an essential part of that responsibility. Instead of putting more food on the tables of America, they are busy finding ways to take it away.