Defenders,
In recent years, FFD has organized demonstrations at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) in protest of the lack of federal anti-trust enforcement and global commodity price rigging that hurts farmers and consumers alike.
Although we are not there in person this year, we know that farmers in the US are in a continuous farm crisis, always at the mercy of the market.
The irrational actions of the current administration – slashing budgets, laying off people, and imposing unreasonable tariffs – have not pushed agribusiness from its privileged perch. In fact, government payments are being sent to commodity farmers, subsidizing not the farmer but the corporations that buy farm products, while other USDA funds have been frozen.
Today, we re-dedicate our fight in solidarity with peasants
and farmers in the US and around the world!
Interested in getting involved with our international work? Scroll down to see
how to attend our monthly International Relations Call.
Our lives are dependent on the sacrifice of the campesinos” – Cesar Chavez
| Jim Goodman Connects Global Peasant Struggles to U.S. Farmers Read Full Statement Here Those who farm in the US distance themselves from the term “peasant”, thinking it connotes a tenant, sharecropper, a small farmer or a farm worker. I am a small farmer, a peasant and proud of it. Remember, roughly half of the worlds population are farmers who work the land and tend livestock. While I am a minority in the US, worldwide, I am part of the majority. The peasant farmer struggles for the right to grow what they wish, for access to water, land and credit and for the rights of women farmers who grow most of the world’s food. Feeding your family, your community and resisting the globalization of food are the struggles all farmers, all people must share whether they grow millet and rice in India, herd cattle in Africa, grow tomatoes in a Brooklyn window box or fish the North Sea. We must control our food supply, we must decide what will be grown to protect our health, our culture and the environment. We are all part of the struggle, for we are all peasants, or, all in need of peasants. April 17th should, at the very least, be a day to consider our connection to food and to those who struggle to feed us. [This text is taken from Jim Goodman’s full article. Jim Goodman is a retired dairy farmer from Wisconsin] |
Tariffs, the Postal System, ICE Raids: Recent articles from FFD Members
The current political situation threatens all of our livelihoods – with those most oppressed being the most vulnerable. In conversations we’re having with each other and with our fellow farmers and eaters, we share our fears of economic uncertainty, the dismantling of public institutions, and the havoc deportations wreck upon our communities. Below are several articles that FFD members have published in response to our current moment.
Trump’s tariff policies set up farmers for bailouts and bankruptcy| The Hill by Anthony Panke (3/24/2025)
Neither Snow, Nor Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor DOGE | Common Dreams by John Peck (3/22/2025) on defending the US Postal Service
Kindred Spirits on St. Patrick’s Day | Counterpunch by Jim Goodman (3/17/2025) on the solidarity ties of the Choctaw Nation and Irish people
Opposition to ICE Crackdown May be Bigger Than You Think by Anthony Panke (3/13/2025)
What U.S. Progressives Can Learn from European Farmers | The Progressive by Ruth Conniff (2/25/2025) on FFD’s recent solidarity tour with Spanish farmers from COAG
Now taking submissions for the Summer Newsletter
Our newsletter is a place for opinion pieces, book reviews, poems, and movement art. We aim for each newsletter to uplift the diverse voices of our members – so don’t be shy to submit. Although we are not able to publish all submissions, all will be considered. For our summer issue, we’re especially interested in work related to protests and food sovereignty.
Look at last fall’s newsletter and our newsletter archive for inspiration.
The deadline to submit is May 9th! If you have a piece to share,
please email it to [email protected]
What we’ve been up to this spring –
Agroecology and Food Sovereignty Meet-up at Marbleseed
On February 22nd, FFD hosted a meet-up at the Marbleseed Organic Farming Conference. A group of more than 50 conference attendees joined us for a presentation that emphasized the need for systemic change to reach food sovereignty, which was followed by small group discussions.
Diversity, a foundation of thought and democratic decision-making, was key to our deep discussions. Participants were excited to learn of policies, including parity, that address the problems and challenges they see, to exchange ideas on agroecology and the positive work happening in their communities, and discover how their work relates to the seven principles of food sovereignty and international solidarity. They made connections with each other and dreamed about the work to come in making food sovereignty the norm, not the exception.
Review the conversations had and resources gathered at our write-up here.
Also at the conference, NPR’s StoryCorps captured the perspectives of five of our longtime board members! Click on the text below to listen to their stories.
La Via Campesina – North America Gathering
At the beginning of March, four of FFD’s designated LVC representatives joined a meeting in Rockport, Massachusetts with 20 American and Canadian farmers, land stewards, and organization staff as our
next step in re-activating the North American region. Together we began laying important groundwork for capacity-building that will boost our grassroots organizing and collective actions.
Family Farm Defenders hosts a monthly International Relations call where we discuss La Via Campesina among other international farm and food related issues.
To get involved in our international solidarity work, send an email stating your interest and experience to [email protected]
Closing Thought: Agroecology & Food Sovereignty on Earth Day
Earth Day, recognized on April 22 each year since 1970, is a time to reflect on the interconnectedness of life on this planet – all life, human and non-human. It is a time to renew efforts to protect Mother Earth.
However, in 2025, despite 55 years of celebration, our precious Earth is in dire condition.
The unecological and corporate-controlled system of food production, processing, distribution, and consumption is responsible for much of its devastation. But it doesn’t have to be this way. This is the system that must be transformed.
Agriculture will inevitably alter the natural landscape. Agroecology and food sovereignty, in place in every corner of the planet, will greatly limit the damage to Mother Earth, thus, are necessary for sustainable, healthy ecosystems – and to keep peasants and farmers on the land. To get there, we need policies that include parity, a mechanism based on principles that pay farmers a fair price, get livestock out of confinement operations, manage the supply of storable grains and oilseeds, eliminate synthetic fertilizers and toxic chemicals and bring diversity back to our farms and to our dinner plates.
Earth Day and the International Day of Peasant Struggles remind us of the critical need to build our work into a movement, to mobilize and take action in our communities and with our allies around the world. Family Farm Defenders is here to join and uplift that movement in defense of peasants and Mother Earth.
Patti Naylor, FFD President
