Happy Friday, everyone!
Welcome to our September open thread—as a reminder, an open thread post is where we want to hear from YOU. Leave a comment below and tell us what you think Hightower should have a look at, or something great that happened in your community, or even a good political joke or meme. We love it all! (Also, as our community has grown here, we’ve really loved seeing all of you interact with one another in the comment and start to form relationships with each other—it’s one of our favorite things about being able to be online with you. Thanks for the warm fuzzies!)
To kick things off, we’re spending a chunk of our day watching Farm Aid’s live stream on the new Farm Bill legislation coming down the pike. A lot of people out there don’t understand that the Farm Bill is not just a farm bill, it’s a rural infrastructure bill. Get into it with these wonderful folks:
Your turn! Tell us what’s happening in your world.
I’ve read that past farm aid has mostly gone to corporate owned farms. When will we see farm aid going to farmers of color?
I am a consumer and not fully aware of farm issues. I am also a supporter of “the little guy”. And what seems to be happening in farming as well as other industries is a massive takeover by large corporations who are interested in the bottom line only. Giant corporations now own farm land as well as farm equipment supply organizations and have created a system of helping the middle men, distributors and sales of agricultural products and equipment to the neglect of the small farms and farmers who supply a basic human need—food. In my area of eastern WA, farms are succumbing to development and real estate as well as wind farms. The little person is often forgotten in this endeavor. We need help as consumers and the suppliers of consumer goods. That is why coops and farmers markets are thriving; people are able to deal more directly with the “little man” who produces the products.
How does one individual consumer fight against this giant takeover that seems to be focused only on the bottom line?