In his 1944 State of the Union Address, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt noted that while the Constitution guaranteed a set of political rights, they were in some respects inadequate. To ensure equality, Roosevelt proposed an Economic Bill of Rights that would guarantee full employment with adequate income; freedom from unfair competition; adequate housing, health care, and education; Social Security; and fair incomes for farmers.

Many items from the Economic Bill of Rights have emerged in the 2020 presidential campaigns, such as the call for free post-secondary education, affordable housing, anti-trust enforcement, Medicare for all, and a living wage. Yet, only Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have expressed their support for rural people by endorsing a “Farmers Bill of Rights.”

Basically, the Farmers Bill of Rights aims to break the stranglehold of the big agri-corporations, stop the wave of farm consolidation and re-empower the small, family farmers who actually work the land.