WISCONSIN STATE FARMER -- Anthony Pahnke is the vice president of the Family Farm Defenders and assistant professor of International Relations at San Francisco State University. He wrote an opinion piece with Jim Goodman, board president of the National Family Farm Coalition.
“For decades Democrats and Republicans have let corporate concentration and power grow, while the incomes of farmers and farmworkers shrink. We have seen a steady erosion of regulation, when we need more of it,” Pahnke and Goodman write. “It’s heartening that the Democrats have realized that rural America is out there, and that market concentration is a very real problem. Taking on the monopolists is a serious task; now, it’s up to the Democrats to decide if they are truly willing to invest in our food system and rural America.”