Pete Buttigieg at the Iowa Farmers Union Annual Meeting
"Mayor Pete" admits that he is from an urban background, but adds that his young life was much like that of rural youngsters who grow up thinking "success is getting out". He sees the need for investing in rural America, inlcuding investments about health, trade wars. He says that being around farmers has made him see that farmers "do math for a living." And how farmers are squeezed by receiving small prices for what they raise while buying inputs from monopolies that can price gouge.He agrees that an important part of health policy is food and farm policy.
Buttigieg spoke about the importance of farmers' markets, which is a place where people of different backgrounds come together, but he also realizes that international markets have been a major pain point for farmers because of unfair trade agreements and the recent rush to tariffs to manipulate policy. He is concerned about quality of life issues, pollution and climate change. He was the only candidate at the forum to mention the painful fact of farmer suicides.