Dave Dawson: Iowa Food System Candidate Conversation

The Iowa Food System Coalition sat down with Dave Dawson, a prosecutor in the Woodbury County Attorney’s Office and the Democratic nominee for the U.S. House in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, as part of our 2026 Candidate Engagement Series. The series gives candidates an opportunity to talk directly with Iowans about the food and farm issues shaping our state, including agriculture, local food markets, land and water, food access, public health, rural communities, and the future of Iowa’s food system. IFSC invited candidates for Governor, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, all four U.S. House districts, and Iowa’s U.S. Senate seat to participate in recorded conversations. These conversations are intended to help Iowans hear directly from candidates and decide for themselves where they stand on the issues that matter to them. The Iowa Food System Coalition is nonpartisan and does not endorse candidates. Topics discussed in this conversation: Beginning farmer land access, foreign farmland ownership, federal minimum wage, PRO Act, farm labor, immigration reform, pesticide drift, farmer compensation, crop diversification, Farm Bill, Iowa-grown food, local food markets, meat processing, food infrastructure, farm to school, SNAP, Double Up Food Bucks, Medicaid, health care access.