Joe Izzo

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?

Food insecurity is best addressed through higher general prosperity, lower regulatory costs on farmers and retailers, and private charity or mutual aid. Heavy state involvement crowds out voluntary solutions, misapplying resources via political rather than prices, and raising costs for everyone through taxes and compliance burdens. In a rural state like Vermont, this emphasizes keeping land-use, labor and environmental rules from unnecessarily raising production costs for dairy, vegetables, and other producers, My French/English speaking Vermont farmer neighbors would term this, "soft laisssez faire".

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

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

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?