Trade Stories Project

Dwight Ault

Dwight Ault is a seasoned Minnesotan farmer.  Dwight farmed 8 years in Iowa, then made the move to Minnesota, and has been here, between Blooming Prairie and Austin, for the past 40 years.  Dwight farms with his son and no other employees.  The two are “totally dependent” on their general livestock consisting of sheep, hogs, and cattle.  The farm is small, about 140 tillable acres, and with an additional 155 acres in the conservation programs.  Dwight has made some big changes over the years, including the transition to an entirely organic operation, which will be completed by the end of 2010, and has also seen many changes in the rural communities.

(May 14, 2010) - As a part of the change from one administration to another and in response to the 2008 food price crisis which led to an increase in the number of hungry in the world to over 1.1 billion people, the US State Department followed up on the commitment made at the G-8 Summit in L'Aquila to raise "more than $20 billion to support a renewed global effort" to reduce world hunger by developing a consultation document called "Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative"
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/130164.pdf.

The document recognizes that "chronic hunger and under-nutrition primarily results from poverty-people who are poor often simply cannot afford to buy food. Hungry families spend over half their income to buy the food they need to survive, with little to fall back on." But before looking at local food production issues, public agricultural research, reduction of post-harvest loss, role of women, and sustainability,  the flow of the argument quickly shifts to trade: "Food often cannot travel from surplus to deficit regions within and across countries because of poor roads and barriers at the border and checkpoints along the way."

(June 26, 2009) - At critical juncture points in public policy, stakeholders with the most power (read biggest and most effective lobbying organizations) go all out to tilt public policy in their favor. No surprise there. The amazing thing is how little flack they get when they openly contradict the very purpose of the policy or policy change.

The current health-care debate is a case in point. Reforming health care has become a "must-do" in this country. It costs too much and does not provide adequate care to all in need.

Several remedies have been suggested including the addition of a "public" health insurance plan as a way to broaden accessibility and lower costs of the health care delivery system.

In a June 21, 2009 Washington Post column, George Will asserts "Competition from the public option must be unfair because government does not need to make a profit and has enormous pricing and negotiating powers."