Organizers of the world’s largest agricultural exposition based in Tulare, California, are not pleased the Mayor’s anti-agricultural comments he made recently on Facebook.
“The staff and volunteers of the International Agri-Center and World Ag Expo strongly disagree with the recent comments about agriculture by Tulare Mayor Carlton Jones. We are staunch supporters of agriculture in Tulare, and around the world. As an educational non-profit focused on agriculture, our doors are open to all who would like to learn more about agriculture and the ways farmers work with the land to safely produce crops that make Tulare County the second largest ag county in the United States,” said World Ag Expo in a statement.”
Tulare Mayor Carlton Jones is taking the heat after this Facebook post below was shared with 81,000 followers on the My Job Depends on Ag page last weekend:
“You’re having a conversation with some in your head. Ag depends on the people. Ag strips the natural resources and contaminates our groundwater and air. Ag causes asthma and valley fever, cancer and kills bees. You can’t educate me. You’re trained. You can share with me what you’ve been trained to think. We can debate the difference between what you think and what I think.”
Jones contends his comments were taken out of context.
It was upsetting to the folks at World Ag Expo, but organizers said they aren’t planning on leaving the county.
“The International Agri-Center and World Ag Expo were born in Tulare as an amazing collaboration between volunteers from the Chamber, the ag community and local businesses. World Ag Expo is a successful fifty-one year old event that celebrates agriculture and is an incubator for new technology and supports advancements in agricultural practices. We are proud to be in Tulare, plan to stay in Tulare, and will continue to host the World Ag Expo every February here in Tulare to showcase the amazing contributions our farmers make to our community, nation, and the entire world.”
