Lost Farm-Lost Quality Pt 1
From the Ag Information Network, this is today’s Fruit Grower Report. Recent numbers show a drastic loss of farms and farmland in Washington state over the past five years, much of it caused by inflation and the escalating cost of doing business.
Pam Lewison, Ag Director at the Washington Policy Center, says if we continue to lose food producers, we will regret it …
LEWISON … “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, period …
LEWISON … “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 …
LEWISON … “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.”
Tune in tomorrow for more on why our loss of local farmers and ranchers needs to stop before it’s too late.
