http://www.press-citizen.com/story/opinion/readers/2015/03/02/bruce-rastetter-ag-summit-family-farms/24265621/

Ag summit isn’t about farming issues

Bruce Rastetter is claiming he will elevate the concerns of farmers, who “feed and fuel the world,” through his 2015 Iowa Ag Summit to be held in Des Moines on March 7 by bringing the subject to the national spotlight.

That’s why he is bringing in 2016 presidential hopefuls like Jeb Bush and Rick Perry. Unfortunately, what’s missing is Rastetter’s role in displacing family farmers and robbing wealth from rural economies through his profit-driven industrial ag agenda.

“Feeding the world” was never about food security. It is about justifying industrial agriculture practices that jeopardize Iowa’s rich soil and undermine the stability of small towns across Iowa. Rastetter’s ag summit isn’t about farming issues — it’s about influencing politics to secure the profitability of his economic ventures in industrial ag and biofuels.

If Rastetter was truly concerned about food security, he would be investing in local control of agricultural production, using methods that sustain the soil and recognizing the dignity of the work done by small family farmers across Iowa.

Pat Bowen

Iowa City