Full 2016 Platform

Farms, Fisheries and Forests

We are the stewards of the land and water that sustain us. We are proud that agriculture—including aquaculture, fishing, logging and other food and fiber production—is a leading industry in Washington State. We support programs and policies that strengthen rural communities, preserve family farms, ensure the availability of high-quality food and maintain the viability of our land and water resources.

We support:

1. Sustainable agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and forestry
2. Organic farms, farmers' markets and local/organic food in school lunch programs
3. Clear food labeling, including organic certification, genetic modification and food origin
4. More inspectors to improve food and livestock inspection
5. Equitable distribution of water rights that respects senior water rights and treaties
6. Quantifying our surface and ground water resources and characterizing their hydraulic continuity
7. Increased efforts to rehabilitate and preserve soil and to conserve habitat
8. Protecting wild salmon from factory fish farms and watershed pollution
9. Removal of the four Snake River Dams, which is necessary to restore Native salmon fisheries
10. Incentivizing farming methods that produce less methane and capture more carbon

We oppose:

1. Predatory agricultural lending and leasing that traps farmers in a cycle of debt
2. Factory farms and agribusiness oligopolies, which force independent farmers into debt peonage and harm consumer health and the environment
3. Overuse of herbicides, pesticides and livestock antibiotics
4. Price gouging by railroads, equipment lessors and other over-concentrated industries
5. Privatized food and livestock inspection
6. Intentional infringement of existing certified water rights