Image: Jo-Anne McArthur, We Animals Media, used with permission
It’s been said that the Farm Bill should be called “The Food Bill” because not everyone farms, but everyone eats. It’s misleading to call it the “Farm” Bill because most people do not think of CAFOs (factory farms) when they envision a farm. Yet these industrial agriculture corporations exert undue influence on its policy and funding priorities. We’re working to make the 2023 Farm Bill as humane, just, and animal-friendly as possible. And we want your help.
As mentioned in last month’s blog entry, The Farm Bill is a comprehensive piece of legislation that governs many aspects of the agricultural industry in the United States. It was first introduced in 1933 as a response to the Great Depression and has been renewed approximately every five years since then. The Farm Bill covers a wide range of topics, including farm subsidies, crop insurance, conservation programs, and nutrition assistance programs like SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). Additionally, the Farm Bill also has significant implications for animal welfare.
Work on the Farm Bill is not the only agriculture-related activity in Congress this year. Several progressive bills have been introduced that have positive implications for farmed animals.
One is the Farm System Reform Act, a bill that seeks to reform the livestock and poultry production systems in the United States. The bill aims to address some of the most significant animal welfare, environmental, and public health concerns associated with industrial agriculture by phasing out the most intensive forms of animal confinement, reducing the use of antibiotics in animal feed, and enforcing stronger environmental regulations on large-scale livestock operations.
The Farm System Reform Act (FSRA) also seeks to address some of the systemic problems with the current Farm Bill, that disproportionately supports large-scale agribusiness and the consolidation of power in the hands of a few large corporations. The FSRA would equal the playing field by providing more support for smaller, independent family farmers. It would encourage more sustainable and diversified farming practices. This Farm System Reform Act has been in the works for some time, reintroduced into the Senate in 20211 and again this year (along with a package of other important bills to reform the U.S. food system)2, by Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ). Making the case that the time for action is upon us, the senator notes, “We must immediately begin to transition to a more sustainable and humane system. An important first step is ending our reliance on huge factory farms and investing in a system that focuses on resilient and regenerative production.”
The Farm Bill is an “omnibus bill”, because it combines many different provisions and programs into a single piece of legislation. That means that stand-alone bills like the FSRA can be swept up and become part of the Farm Bill.
This is an example of how good policy can become part of the Farm Bill. We call on you to take action to encourage lawmakers to put FSRA policies into the Farm Bill.
Call to Action: Help put the Farm System Reform Act into the Farm Bill. (1) Are your U.S. Senators and Representative sponsors/co-sponsors of the Farm System Reform Act? If so, thank them. (2) If not, ask them to co-sponsor S. 271 and H.R. 797. (3) Ask them to ensure that the act becomes part of the Farm Bill. Find your elected officials here. Find the Senate sponsors here and the House sponsors here.
Since the last Farm Bill was passed in 2018, factory farms have continued to dominate the marketplace, expanding their ineffective, inequitable and inhumane efforts to put a stranglehold on the U.S. food system. While these multinational factory farms have maximized corporate profits, they have continued to shrink the actual household income of the traditional American farmworker, at the expense of subsidies from the American taxpayer. Now is a unique time to ensure the passage of the Farm System Reform Act as a part of the Farm Bill. We are not alone. Recently Food & Water Watch and the ASPCA submitted a call-to-action lettersigned by 300+ groups nationwide calling for incorporation of FSRA into the Farm Bill.3
The suffering built into the American food system is unconscionable, but not unsolvable. Legislation to end systemic farm animal cruelty—including the Farm System Reform Act— would support the transition away from destructive factory farming.
