We revere the image of farmers on TV commercials and in campaign speeches. The truth is there are one billion farmers on earth and 60 percent of them live in poverty. God may have made farmers, but man continues to make new ways to exploit them.

The destruction of topsoil, the reliance on monocrops, and the web of subsidies for corn and soy are indefensible. Painting big farmers as bad guys and small farmers as good guys doesn't help.

Food security is generally recognized as an important goal for our country. Supporting good nutrition for our needy citizens is the right and moral action for our government to take, but it is also the economically and healthy action to take where small farmers will make a significant impact.

When our food is at risk we are all at risk. Over the last thirty years, we have witnessed a massive consolidation of our food system, leading to the loss of millions of family farmers, the destruction of soil fertility, the pollution of our water, and health epidemics.

It's one thing for the USDA to tell Americans to eat more fruits and vegetables, but quite another to ensure that federal agriculture policy encourages farmers to grow more.

Last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the business leaders of the global corporate food regime announced a new Corporate Food Crusade to empower small farmers and entrepreneurs.

Michelle Obama and Bill Simon, Wal-Mart's president and CEO, met last week. Does the first lady not realize that One Big Store is as sure a destroyer of culture as is One Big Government?

Midsized farms may ultimately bear the full brunt of the Food Safety bill. But to what extent have the food contamination scares in recent years been traceable to them?