On the heels of the recent farm bill extension, 112 organizations have come together to work on issues spanning hunger and food access, farming, workers’ issues, rural communities, and the environment.
A mash-up of unlikely bedfellows though helmed by environmental organizations, organic proponents, and anti-large-farm groups called on Congress to craft a food and farm bill that they say will finally reject historical inequities, tackle the climate crisis, provide nutritious food to communities, fight corporate consolidation, and protects food and farm workers.
The letter, sent to House and Senate Agriculture Committee leadership today, identifies 34 “marker bills” that the group says if included in the next food and farm bill, would help transform the U.S. food and agriculture system into one that is more sustainable, resilient, and equitable, and would be one that farmers, workers, and communities need and deserve.
After failing to pass a new five-year food and farm bill before the expiration of the 2018 Agriculture Improvement Act (the farm bill), Congress extended the 2018 legislation through September 30, 2024.
Neither the House nor the Senate has yet to produce draft legislation. The extension affords the agriculture committees breathing room and another chance to write a food and farm bill that rises to the challenge of the moment by making farm programs more equitable, enabling farmers to thrive in the face of a changing climate and be part of the solution, and creating a more secure and resilient food system.
Over the past few months, the Union of Concerned Scientists coordinated the farm bill campaign’s advisory committee and worked to find consensus on marker bills that align with the values of a transformative farm bill out of the hundreds of introduced farm bill marker bills.
“This group of diverse organizations came together to endorse these 34 marker bills because they offer a road map to a more equitable and sustainable food system,” said Sophie Ackoff, farm bill campaign director at the UCS, an organization that frequently targets what it calls “industrial agriculture.” “It’s time for the food and farm bill to serve farmers, workers, and community members instead of corporate agribusiness. Congress should listen to the needs of frontline organizations and communities and incorporate these bills into a food and farm bill that President Biden can be proud to sign.”
The UCS and partners launched the farm bill campaign in September 2022 in a letter to President Biden. Over the past year, the campaign has also called for including food and farmworker protections in the farm bill and hosted a congressional hill briefing featuring food and farmworkers.
Lead letter authors include the Climate Justice Alliance, HEAL Food Alliance, Midwest Farmers of Color Collective, National Black Food & Justice Alliance, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, National Young Farmers Coalition, Springfield Food Policy Council, and United Food and Commercial Workers.