A coalition of animal rights groups, environmentalists, food safety advocates, farmers, and media organizations won two major victories against ag-gag laws early this month.
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Residents of rural communities near large-scale farms may soon find it harder to protect their drinking water from pollution from agriculture, thanks to a bill introduced recently by Representative Dan Newhouse, a Republican from Washington’s 4th district.
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The Department of Agriculture last week finally proposed rules to protect poultry farmers from abusive and discriminatory practices by giant chicken processing companies. Called the Farmer Fair Practices Rules, the new rules come 6 years after the Obama Administration first attempted to regulate the industry, then retreated under heavy pressure from pro-Big Ag representatives in Congress. Some in the industry believe the USDA action comes too late to deliver any real change for farmers.
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Oklahomans vote November 8 on a Big Ag-backed proposal to limit the ability of citizens to regulate agricultural activity within the state. If passed, State Question 777 would add language to the state constitution requiring any new agricultural legislation to undergo strict scrutiny in the courts, making it harder for residents to improve environmental, animal welfare, and water standards in the state.
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There’s a battle happening in organic farming, and it’s not about labeling or the setting of standards. In May, the Organic Trade Association submitted a revised proposal to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to impose a special tax on organic farming. Called a “checkoff,” this tax would apply to all organic farmers, handlers of organic goods, and food processors with sales over a certain threshold. According to the proposal, money collected through the tax would be used for the promotion of organic products.
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On June 14, while electing their state representatives, the citizens of North Dakota will also decide whether to open their state to corporate agriculture or to uphold historical protections of family farming.
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Few images are more emblematic of the American heartland than that of farmers taking their livestock to market. But if Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts signs a bill passed last month by his state’s legislature, one of the last of the country’s traditional open livestock markets may soon close forever. The bill would remove one of the few safeguards that allow farmers to sell their livestock in a transparent and competitive way.
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With A Bone to Pick, an anthology of columns from his four years at the Times, Bittman provides a survey of his food policy analysis. But the collection also reveals Bittman’s disheartening lack of analysis about how, exactly, the American public came to find itself in the midst of such a widespread – and growing – agricultural and dietary crisis. Bittman’s proclivity to position the eater as a powerful decision-maker and federal food policy reform as the most effective path forward obscures much of the reality of who holds the power in today’s international food system.
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Imagine if the federal government mandated that a portion of all federal gas taxes go directly to the oil industry’s trade association, the American Petroleum Institute. Imagine further that API used this public money to finance ad campaigns encouraging people to drive more and turn up their thermostats, all while lobbying to discredit oil industry critics—from environmentalists to those calling for better safety regulations or alternative energy sources.That’s a deal not even Exxon could pull off, yet the nation’s largest meat-packers now enjoy something quite like it. Today, when you buy a Big Mac or a T-bone, a portion of the cost is a tax on beef, the proceeds from which the government hands over to a private trade group called the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. How did this system come into being? And what is the NCBA doing with all that money?
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