Gavin Newsom’s DEI Land Grab: A Direct Threat to Farmers, Food Prices, and the American Dream
While Washington was gridlocked and the federal government sat at a standstill, California’s political machine was busy pushing a new agenda, one that puts our farmers, ranchers, and food producers directly in the crosshairs.
Governor Gavin Newsom’s latest move is a sweeping plan to use DEI ideology as justification for reshaping who can own, buy, or even work agricultural land in California. And the consequences wouldn’t stop at our state line.
The California Agricultural Land Equity Task Force which was established by the California Budget Act of 2022 (AB 179) has released a draft report outlining proposals that would fundamentally change agricultural land ownership in our state.
According to the report, the state should:
Incentivize transferring public and private farmland exclusively to certain minority groups.
Create local ordinances restricting who can purchase agricultural land.
Encourage nonprofits and the state to outbid legacy farms at auction.
Offer tax credits, debt forgiveness, and special funding only to select demographics.
Tie land access to mandatory climate-related agricultural practices.
Critics argue that these recommendations amount to identity based land redistribution, something unheard of in modern American agriculture.
Are you concerned yet? This is outrageous as government should not be deciding who gets access to land based on race, ancestry, or identity. Yet the Task Force’s proposals would do exactly that.
California isn’t just another state. Our agriculture sector alone ranks as the fifth-largest food supplier in the world. If California farmers are squeezed out, regulated out, or priced out, every American family will feel it at the grocery store.
While the Trump administration is working to lower food prices nationwide, California’s leadership is exploring policies that critics say would drive food inflation even higher.
Some might shrug this off as another Sacramento fantasy. But the report is detailed, organized, and clearly intended to serve as a model for future policy, possibly even at the national level.
California’s political class has already shown they’re willing to push boundaries. This is no exception.
No farmer should be excluded from opportunities because of their skin color.
No rancher should lose land because they don’t fit a political definition of “equity.”
No government should be in the business of deciding who is allowed to buy land.
Agriculture is the backbone of the American way of life. It belongs to everyone willing to work the land and not just those favored by a political agenda.
Those raising the alarm are demanding that Governor Newsom reject the Task Force’s recommendations outright. They argue that California cannot afford another ideological experiment that punishes hardworking families and threatens our food supply.
This DEI-driven land policy is a line in the sand. And many are ready to stand up for farmers, ranchers, and producers.
It’s time to shut down the circus in Sacramento, vote the clowns out, and break the one‑party grip that’s dragging California down. Our state deserves leaders who serve the people. And let's make sure Gavin Newsom NEVER becomes President!
Carol Pefley
Candidate for CA State Assembly
