Daniel Jackson Warns of Looming Food Security Crisis
A Disconnect Between Policy and Reality
In a recent interview on AgNet West, Daniel Jackson of Family Tree Farms voiced deep frustration over what he describes as the California government’s growing disconnect from the realities of farming in the Central Valley. Speaking with AgNet West’s Nick Papagni, Jackson didn’t mince words: “They’re so disconnected to what’s going on… We don’t have the population here in the valley to run things. We know that.”
This disconnect, according to Jackson, leads to policy decisions that harm agriculture rather than support it.
Rail Projects, Water Policy, and Vanishing Accountability
Jackson highlighted the irony of California’s high-speed rail project beginning in a region widely opposed to it — and one that relies heavily on uninterrupted farmland and water infrastructure. “This is probably the one area in the state that’s against the high-speed rail… and this is where they’ve started,” he said, noting how it has divided farmland and disrupted irrigation systems.
Combined with inconsistent and unproductive water legislation, he warned, “It just goes away into oblivion, and you don’t know where all the billions of dollars went. And there’s nothing ever done.”
Food Security at Risk
Jackson warned that current policy trends are leading the country toward a serious food security crisis. With 70% of U.S.-grown fruit and 50% of vegetables coming from California, policy-driven land reductions could have national consequences.
“What happens when you take half of that acreage out because of policy? Not because there isn’t water — because there is — it’s just we have bad policy.”
If the U.S. becomes reliant on foreign sources for its fresh produce, he cautioned, it would lose control over the very resources that sustain public health.
A Call to Prioritize Nutrition and Independence
Jackson ended with a stark warning: “America starts becoming dependent on other people for their most precious resource — the resource that keeps them alive — and that is the nutrition of fruits and vegetables.”
The message is clear: agricultural policy must realign with food production realities before the damage becomes irreversible.