The evening started with a panel including a cow/calf operator, a labor leader, and other ranchers. Patty Lovera of Food and Water Watch brought in the consumer angle and made the connection between consolidation and food safety—much like she’s been doing on many major news outlets this week, talking about the massive egg recall. Bill Bullard, CEO of the independent cattle union R-CALF talked about the crisis in the livestock industry and brought the crowd to its feet with his calls for change.

Dozens of people made statements, many in preparation for the public comment period at today’s workshop. Comments came from farmers, ranchers, farmers’ market promoters, local food advocates, workers from Kentucky, a hog grower from Minnesota, a young woman who works on aquaculture projects in Denver, a food justice activist from Chicago, a consumer concerned about food safety, a Missouri sociologist, and many more. Speakers came from the Dakotas, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, Kansas, Wisconsin, Alabama, and Virginia. They talked about their struggles on their farms, struggles with corporations, and many years of struggles with the government, trying to get enforcement of laws that would give all producers – not just big ones—a fair shake in the marketplace. And they talked about unity and solidarity—“worker and farmer cooperation like this country has never seen before!”; engaging everyone “from farm to fork”—and working together all across the food chain to demand the change we need.