Most of the farmers at the conference raise organic or specialty products for farmers markets and customers who pay in advance for weekly baskets of food, known here as Community Supported Agriculture. About a dozen Hmong vegetable farmers from the area around Fresno, California, attended. There were also a few farmers from other states, the Philippines, and Japan who had read about the conference on the Internet.

Thomas and Denesse Willey farm organic produce on 75 acres in Madera, California. They described the difficulties farmers like themselves now face in staying in business. "It used to be that organic farming was a separate subset in farming," Thomas told the Militant. "But as organic vegetables have become more popular, they are getting incorporated into the whole corporate food system that requires larger producers, and now the prices we get are falling."

"Unless you have enough to supply all the supermarkets," Denesse added, "the wholesalers no longer want to do business with you."

Ka Neng Vang and Bentley Vang, Hmong farmers from Fresno, grow strawberries and a variety of Asian vegetables. Bentley said they face many problems as small farmers. "Lack of equipment," he said immediately. "We all have to line up for one tractor."

"Crops do not wait and then if the equipment breaks down in one farmer's field the others are in trouble," added Ka Neng. They also said it was hard to get loans because the banks and farm lending agencies require tremendous amounts of paperwork and records to prove their farm history and "creditworthiness."  
 

Searching for solutions to farm crisis

A farmer from Tennessee said in a workshop discussion, "I am $300,000 in debt so I can't even get out. I got on the Internet searching for solutions and saw this conference and that's why I'm here." Three years ago he farmed 3,000 acres of cotton. Last year he had to sell nearly half his land to avoid foreclosure. This year he had to sell more to keep afloat.

Howard Jeter, a long time farm activist from Vacaville, California, was a plaintiff in the suit brought by Black farmers against discrimination by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). He said he opposed the recent settlement of the suit "as totally insufficient." A similar lawsuit was filed November 23 by Native American farmers against the USDA over the same kinds of discrimination in granting government loans.

Most of the workshops covered technical questions dealing with crops, equipment, marketing, and loans. A series of workshops on Agriculture and Food Policy discussed the problems resulting from the concentration and control of the food industry from seed to supermarket by a few corporations. Many farmers commented that the biggest problem they face is the falling price of farm products. Net farm income nationally has fallen 38 percent since 1997.

David Hoyle and Alisha Taylor, two young people who traveled to the conference from their cooperative farm in Oregon, argued that the only answer is to "remove small farmers and food production from the commodity-based, profit-driven economy."  
 

Genetically engineered food

One panel took up the question of genetically engineered foods, in which a plant's genetic makeup is changed to make it toxic to pests or resistant to a particular brand of chemical herbicide or pesticide.

Such technological advances could provide great benefits for farmers and consumers. However, biotechnology is in the hands of giant corporations driving for profit. One of the best known examples is the "Roundup Ready" seeds genetically engineered by Monsanto to be used only with the company's "Roundup" herbicide. Corporations such as Monsanto, DuPont, and Novartis want to patent and control the seeds, herbicides, and pesticides that farmers in this country and around the world use.

One of the panelists, Britt Bailey, co-author of Against the Grain, Biotechnology and the Corporate Takeover of Your Food, said that in the corporations' rush to dominate the market and increase profits, little attention has been paid to the long-term impact of genetically engineered agricultural products on health and the environment. The USDA relies on these companies to supply their own studies documenting the safety of these seeds when approving them for use.

In the discussion, a farmer pointed out that contracts signed by farmers who buy genetically engineered seed bar them from saving seed from their fields for the following year's crop. Thus farmers are required to purchase new seed every year. Bailey stated that more than 400 farmers in the United States are facing possible prosecution for allegedly violating the agreement not to save seeds.

Bailey and another panelist hailed the opponents of genetic engineering in Europe as being "more advanced" than their counterparts in the United States. In fact, agribusiness and capitalist governments in Europe have utilized the public concern over food safety to whip up nationalist sentiments against imports and in support of protectionist trade barriers.

Although they presented no evidence to back their arguments, workshop speakers pointed to the World Trade Organization (WTO) as the chief obstacle confronting farmers and others concerned with potential environmental disasters. They urged opponents of genetically modified food to join protests in Seattle at the WTO meeting in December.

In the last few weeks, debate over the use of genetically altered agricultural products has spread to the United States. A front-page article in the November 12 New York Times explained that agribusiness giants are forming alliances and spending tens of millions of dollars to fight bad publicity on biotech foods in the United States and Europe. The article reports that there is "pressure from farmers seeking more information" as these crops become more controversial. In late November, more than 30 farm organizations including the National Family Farm Coalition and the American Corn Growers Association publicly warned their members of problems with the marketability of genetically altered foods.

Seventy million acres of farmland in the United States were planted with genetically engineered seed in 1999. Farmers, battered by the already low prices they get for their commodities, now face the worry that their crops will produce even less income.

A number of conference presenters and participants urged support to the workers who are fighting to organize a union at the Radisson Hotel, where the conference took place. A table with literature on their fight was set up and a number of conference participants sported buttons supporting the unionization drive. Remarks made from the floor urging support for the Teamsters strike at Basic Vegetable in King City were also warmly received.  
 
 
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