Today, Farm Action Fund released a comprehensive handbook for the new Congress, Ending the Monopoly Takeover of American Agriculture: Policy Recommendations for the 119th Congress. This handbook is an active guide for lawmakers to tackle the harmful levels of corporate control over today’s food and farm system to the benefit of every American farmer, family, and community.
As Farm Action’s Agriculture Consolidation Data Hub reveals, roughly three dozen corporations dictate the lines of development and terms of trade for almost every industry involved in the growing, processing, and distribution of food in America. This level of corporate control is having catastrophic consequences on America’s farmers, with over 140,000 farmers folding in a recent five-year period.
Meanwhile, the number of U.S. farms producing food for consumption has declined, creating an agricultural trade deficit that is projected to reach a record-breaking $45.5 billion in 2025. America is also facing a health and nutrition crisis as we become increasingly reliant on other nations to feed us. A different way forward is possible, and legislators can reverse the status quo.
Farm Action Fund President Joe Maxwell stated: “There’s a myth that permeates our food system peddled by powerful corporations that we feed the world, but the fact is we don’t even feed ourselves. This is a national security and food security issue. America’s farmers are more than capable of feeding their communities, but backward government policies are standing in the way. The policy recommendations provided in this handbook give lawmakers a clear way to begin returning power to farmers and the American people and away from conglomerates.”
The handbook is divided into four key issues and provides concise action steps for each, including refiling or co-sponsoring previously developed legislation, pushing for administrative action, or becoming a champion of an issue area.
The handbook is broken down into the following key issues:
- Give America’s Independent Farmers, Workers, and Small Businesses a Fighting Chance
- Feed American Families with Food Grown on American Soil
- Support Farmers Producing Nutritious Foods
- End Government Corruption Once and For All
Maxwell continued: “We urge lawmakers to prioritize these systemic changes to our food and farm system because our country, rural communities, farmers, and the overall health of America’s people depend on it.”
The handbook is accompanied by four one-pager documents providing a synopsis of each of the key issues and how they may be addressed.
Media Contact: Emma Nicolas, 202-450-0094, enicolas@farmactionfund.us