"With fewer than 18 months until the 2020 elections, the field is crowded with contenders. There are currently 25 declared presidential candidates, ranging from the well-known (Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren) to the lesser-known (Marianne Williamson, Wayne Messam), and even one candidate who doesn’t want to win (Mike Gravel). In mid-April, Republican William Weld became the first Republican challenger to President Trump.
Food and farming haven’t been high on the list of campaign priorities in recent decades, except maybe in Iowa. But this year, that appears to be shifting. With the pivotal role that rural voters played in the 2016 election firmly in mind, many presidential candidates are zooming in to address the challenges that abound in today’s farm country. And a number of them are connecting agriculture to other pressing issues—notably climate change, food insecurity, economic development, and more.
We first published this article on May 29, 2019; throughout the 2020 campaign, Civil Eats will be tracking how each candidate approaches food and farming, and we’ll update the information as their platforms develop. The newest information will be at the bottom of each candidate’s listing.
The first debates among Democratic candidates took place on June 26 and June 27; food and farming issues were largely absent from the discussion, although Cory Booker reiterated his call to freeze mergers of large agriculture companies, and Beto O’Rourke and Pete Buttegieg each called for support for carbon farming practices and helping farmers sequester more carbon in the soil."
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