Anne Watson

What do you believe is the role of state government, if any, in ensuring that everyone living in Vermont has the food they need to thrive?

I believe it is one of the essential roles of Government to ensure that everyone has what they need to survive - this includes food (it also includes healthcare, public safety, clean water and air, etc.) I strongly support 3SquaresVT, universal school meals, and CropCash Plus, but I also support growing as much of that food as possible in state. Our farmers are a fundamental part (perhaps THE fundamental part) of our capacity to provide for our own needs.

What would be your policy priorities to move Vermont toward food security for all?

I think we need to actually put money into the Farm & Forestry Security Special Fund. I'm very interested in increasing the pipeline of food from Vermont farms to Vermont Schools (and Vermont prisons for that matter). Ultimately, though, I'd like to have conversations based on the Food Security Roadmap. There are many items in there that I think are possible, but it would be good to talk through which are the most feasible and impactful.

What do you believe are the root causes of hunger, and what should the state do to address those underlying factors?

It mainly comes down to our poverty. So why are we so poor? From a country-wide perspective one of the main issues is wealth inequality. For that reason I support adding back the 5th tax bracket and asking Vermont's wealthiest residents to contribute more. From a Vermont-specific perspective, we have some of the most expensive healthcare in the country (and likely therefore the world). This cannot continue. We must continue to pursue reference based pricing, pharmaceutical price caps, and ultimately move toward universal single payer healthcare. There are steps we can take to do this - start with primary care, look for a consortium of other states to join, etc.

How would you help strengthen the state’s agriculture and food economy to ensure Vermont farms can continue to grow the food we all need?

One of the issues that will undoubtedly come up next session is the Accessory On-Farm Business portion of the Act 250 statute, that was amended this last session in S.325. It is likely that as it stands, it needs work. This is a tricky issue, because creating exemptions means there's the possibility of abuse, but I think with a good stakeholder process we can come up with a good solution. Additionally, I'd like to re-examine current use, especially as it applies to smaller parcels, and I'd like to investigate the possibility of adding benefits for additional kinds of land-stewardship.