A freelance cartoonist says he was fired for drawing an editorial cartoon that bemoaned Iowa farmers' dwindling profits while CEOs at large agricultural corporations earn millions of dollars.
In last week's "It's Friday" cartoon, Friday said the CEOs of Deere & Co., Monsanto Co. and DuPont Pioneer made more money than 2,129 Iowa farmers last year. A large affiliated company "was insulted and canceled their advertisement with the paper, thus, resulting in the reprimand of my editor and cancellation of 'It's Friday' cartoons," wrote Friday, who worked 21 years for Farm News, publishing 1,090 cartoons. DuPont and Monsanto officials said the companies were unaware of the cartoon until the media brought it to their attention. A Deere spokesman wasn't immediately available Monday to comment. Monsanto's Christi Dixon said the St. Louis-based company has no interest in shutting down farm discussions. "We respect various viewpoints and want to be open to dialogue. We're interested in finding common ground," said Dixon, adding the company recently hosted a vocal critic of the company's genetically modified seeds at its headquarters.