Missouri

Democratic Chairman, Steven Webber speaks to a crowd in Rock Port, about the “Family Farmers Bill of Rights”, on Tuesday, December 5, 2017.

Written by Rick Oswald

Steven Webber, chairman of the Missouri Democratic Party, was in Rock Port Tuesday evening as he traveled across the state to announce the “Family Farmers Bill of Rights”, an initiative intended to empower and reverse the decline of rural Missouri. Other Missouri organizations involved are Missouri Farmers Union, Missouri Food for America, and Family Farm Action.
Immediate actions called for are: helping to expand rural small businesses including family farms, reinstating country of origin labeling (COOL) for U.S. born, raised, and slaughtered beef and pork, preserving rural communities’ right to local control, a rollback of recently enacted legislation allowing expanded foreign ownership of Missouri farmland, restoration of fair and equal rural representation on the Missouri Clean Water Commission, and fair practice rules for farmers who contract to raise livestock and poultry on behalf of packer/integrators.
Currently, Country of Origin labeling for U.S. beef is illegal under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules agreed to by our government. The Missouri General Assembly has liberalized laws prohibiting foreign ownership of Missouri land and has made it more difficult for rural counties control their communities’ quality of life with health ordinances and zoning. Recent appointments made by Governor Greitens have resulted in corporate control over the Clean Water Commission, and family farmers who raise poultry and hogs under contract for large meat packers are forced to accept mandatory arbitration and non-disclosure for contract disputes included in those contracts leaving farmers with no guarantee for fair resolution of disputes.
Speaking to a group at the Bank Midwest community room, Webber said, “As we lose family farms, we lose local businesses, we lose schools and then, ultimately, we start losing people.” He went on to explain that the Family Farmers Bill of Rights is intended not only to help family farmers and rural communities but also to acquaint Missouri’s general population with the problems our shrinking rural communities face.