Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack has been bemoaning the fact that the US has lost a tremendous number of farms and millions of acres of farmland since the 1990s. Industry experts say much of it is caused by inflation and the escalating cost of doing business as well as the encroachment of low density residential development.
Pam Lewison, Ag Director at the Washington Policy Center, says if we continue to lose food producers, we will regret it.
“If you are getting food that is produced locally, you can be assured that it is very safe. It is tested and retested. It is something that is monitored very heavily by the EPA, and the FDA, and the USDA, and WSDA.”
Whether you believe it or not, Lewison says the food we grow is the best in the world.
“We have all of these mechanisms and regulations and controls to ensure that we have the highest quality and the safest food supply in the world.”
Without it, Lewison says we’re at the mercy of other countries.
“The minute you start pushing out local producers, that food has to come from somewhere, and you cannot guarantee that those regulations are the same because your food is coming from somewhere else, and they are not held to the same standard that your local producers are held to.”
it’s not wrong to expect high-quality food, but growers need our help.
“You know, we have this desire for these very high-quality standards but, on the other hand, we want food to cost very little and we want it to be widely available, and we want it to be available year-round.”
Lewison says regardless of what some may say about farming practices, the local farmers have got your back.