Why is U.S. food and farming dominated by junk food peddlers like Pepsi, genetic engineering giants like Monsanto (now Bayer) and factory farm titans like Tyson Foods?
Every five years, their lobbyists write a piece of legislation known as the Farm Bill that doles out billions of our tax dollars in subsidies that grease the wheels of their big-profits-from-cheap-food machine.
Sure, there are some good Farm Bill programs for regenerative organic agriculture and local food, but they’re woefully underfunded.
Will that ever change? Not if we don’t use our people power to balance the campaign cash our corporate nemeses keep throwing at our Congresspeople.
TAKE ACTION: For better food, demand a better Farm Bill!
This year, as it does every five years, Congress will rewrite the law that shapes the U.S. food system, deciding how much support farmers should get for which kinds of farming systems.
The new Farm Bill will determine how an estimated $1.5 trillion will be spent on food and farming over the next decade.
Most Farm Bill money subsidizes massive monocultures of over-fertilized, pesticide-drenched genetically engineered grains for factory farmed animal feed, the sweeteners and oils used in processed food, and ethanol.
What about the family farmers growing healthy fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains, and pasture-raising animals?
There are some good Farm Bill programs for regenerative organic agriculture and nutrient-dense local food, but they’re underfunded. Some programs are turning away 73 percent of the farmers who qualify for them. In 2022, that was 110,000 farmers!
Now’s the time to let Congress know there’s a mass movement of farmers and foodies who aren’t going to tolerate a business-as-usual approach to the Farm Bill.
We want Congress to stop subsidizing the big-profits-from-cheap-food machine and instead make meaningful investments in bringing pasture-raised meat, milk and eggs and nutrient-dense regenerative organic vegetables, fruits, nuts and grains to local communities.
Please contact your Congresspeople today to ask them to support the most innovative Farm Bill proposals.
TAKE ACTION: For better food, demand a better Farm Bill!
*SAMPLE TEXT TO YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS*
You will be able to modify this text on the next page, after entering your information.
Dear [Member of Congress],
It’s Farm Bill time again.
When the lobbyists for corporations like Pepsi, Monsanto (Bayer) and Tyson Foods ask you to keep pouring money into their cheap-food-big-profits machine, turn them away.
Instead, support the family farmers who bring nutrient-dense regenerative organic food to their local communities.
Make your first priority protecting the Inflation Reduction Act investment of nearly $20 billion in climate-friendly agriculture practices.
Then, please support:
- The Farmland for Farmers Act (S. 2583) to protect vulnerable cash-strapped farmers and stop land grabbing speculative investors like billionaire Bill Gates from gobbling up all the farmland and leasing it out to corporate cronies.
- The Fair Credit for Farmers Act (S. 2668) to improve Farm Service Agency lending services to strengthen farmer-borrower rights, help to prevent predatory and discriminatory lending practices, and to be easier to access, fair and transparent.
- The Climate Stewardship Act to support regenerative organic agriculture practices on more than 100 million acres of farmland by providing tens of billions of dollars of supplemental funding for USDA working lands conservation programs, with new funding dedicated to stewardship practices such as rotational grazing and cover crops.
- The Opt for Health with SNAP (OH SNAP), Close the Fruit and Vegetable Gap Act of 2023 to scale up the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program that funds programs that give SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) users access to more fruits and vegetables, especially through farmers’ market matching and produce prescription programs.
- The Strengthening Local Processing Act (S.354 and H.R.945) to build more resilient regional food systems by increasing livestock processing options for local livestock and poultry producers and helping consumers access locally raised meat & poultry.
- The Local Farms and Food Act (S.1205 and H.R. 2723) to increase access to the suite of Local Agriculture Market Programs.
Thank you.
[Your Name]