Monica Potts on what meaningful assistance for unconventional farmers would look like:
If President Barack Obama really wants to change the way Americans eat, his administration needs to do more to help the organic farmers who sell their food directly to local consumers. That means shifting funding from big conventional farms to smaller farms whose owners are struggling financially despite the higher produce prices they can command. Those high prices, in turn, keep organic food from reaching the lower-income communities that would benefit from better foods. Here’s how the administration can start easing the financial burdens on unconventional farmers and, in turn, lowering the price of local, organic food.