Readers, I’ve been struggling with how to present this topic. It can get complex, and I don’t want to lose you in the details. What matters to me in this room is why you should care enough to do something about it. That’s it. So I really hope I’m presenting this in a way that gives you just enough information so that your eyes don’t start to glaze over. Because the Food Bill is truly essential for changing our food system.
The What
If you’ve been following this blog or any food system-related news, you will have heard that a majority (around 70%) of the American diet is made up of processed foods, mainly from these 3 grains – rice, wheat, and corn. Not only is this dangerous to human health, but it’s also contributing to climate change and resource constraints. And what you may not know is that the government is largely responsible for this fact, AND it has the power to change it – through the Farm Bill.
The Why
Simply put, the Farm Bill should be called the Food Bill because it affects our entire food system – from how food is grown, what types of food are available, and who has access to it (credit: Kiss the Ground). And Congress is voting on a new Farm Bill this September. So making our voices heard now can make a difference in our food systems and our health for years to come.
Just the Facts, Ma’am
Why do so many farmers grow corn and wheat, use so many fertilizers and refuse to diversify?
Answer: The Farm Bill
Why is corn syrup being used to sweeten our food and our soft drinks?
Answer: The Farm Bill
Why is corn fed to cows, pigs, chicken and fish? FISH!
Answer: The Farm Bill
Why is wheat flour (whole wheat, unbleached wheat, enriched wheat, etc) in so many of our foods?
Answer: The Farm Bill
Most businesses exist to make a profit, or they wouldn’t be in business. And in order to run a successful business, one thing you must do is keep costs down. Food companies are no different. So if a food ingredient or feed source for animals is cheap, it is appealing to that business. The current Farm bill subsidizes the heck out of corn, wheat, soy and rice, making them top choices for food ingredients.
We feed [cows] corn because it’s the cheapest, most convenient thing we can give them. Corn is incredibly cheap; it costs about $2.25 for a bushel of corn, which is like 50 pounds. It costs less to buy than it costs to grow, because of subsidies. [The government] pay the farmer to grow the corn — see, this is a hidden cost to this supposedly cheap feed. I think it costs about $3 to grow a bushel of corn, and the feedlots only have to pay $2.25.
-Michael Pollan https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/meat/interviews/pollan.html
So, if you want the Farm Bill to support a diverse crop system that subsidizes fruits and vegetables and a vast variety of grains, so we see more of a variety of healthy ingredients in our food, feel free to skip down to What you can do and make a plan to do.
Let’s Go Down the Rabbit Hole, Shall We?
The Farm Bill has always aimed to support economic stability, feed the poor, and conserve the land. So I don’t want to demonize the folks who initially assembled it or those who continue to pass this massive spending bill every 5 years. It has done a lot of good. But with all the good intentions, came the negative externalities or consequences of some of the policies – like topsoil degradation, a homogenous human diet, record levels of obese Americans who are simultaneously malnourished, species extinction, water pollution, air pollution, global warming, and an unsustainable food production system.
The good news is (yay! There is good news!), we have more information about a better way to accomplish the goals of the Farm Bill without unintended consequences. And Congress has started listening. In the system up until now, we’ve largely forced farmers to try to squeeze the last drop of life out of the land rather than restore it, for minimal profits, while feeding into a food system that makes us sick.
This is not their fault – most farmers care very much about their land and feeding people, but feel too strapped to take the leap to farming differently without the full support of the Farm Bill. And there have been efforts to incentivize farmers to conserve land, reduce run-off and support rural economies. But it hasn’t moved the needle quite enough. The system is not quite set up to support farmers to both restore their land AND a create healthier food system. And because the Farm Bill still only subsidizes grains, enough hasn’t been done to address nutrition. But now, it’s time to full steam ahead on repairing more and better and faster.
There is a coalition of farmers, scientists and policymakers called Regenerate America. I’ve referred to it in previous posts. They have helped to write marker bills and policy recommendations that will change the Farm Bill to redirect funds to new places. Places that will help to fulfill the initial mission of the Farm Bill.
Here is a link if you want to read further, but basically, what it’s recommending, is that money is newly or increasingly directed to:
- Making it cheaper to grow and to buy fruits and vegetables, not just grains.
- Making it easier for farmers to change how they farm with less risk.
- Educating trainers to teach farmers how to farm for soil health to save on costs – farming for soil health means working with nature instead of against it, which results in fewer chemicals used. We like that!
- Educating insurance companies and money lenders about the lower risk of loss via soil health farming. Lower risk means lower cost of capital and lower insurance premiums.
- Supporting smaller, more local food systems so more communities have access to a diverse selection of real whole foods that are safer for their health.
The bottom line is we can ultimately redirect our food system to farm more economically, making the farmers more money while making us healthier. But it’s like pushing a boulder up a hill. It will take a lot of power and a lot of people to get it done. But once we’re there, it’s all downhill.
You still with me? Did I lose you to thoughts about your to-do list or make you start to look around the room for someone to come save you? If I still have your attention, please see the next section, and spend 2-3 minutes signing a petition or writing to your congresspeople, so our food systems make our earth healthier, our people healthier and our farmers more prosperous. We all deserve that, don’t you agree? This will do a lot. You should do this.
What you can do
- Sign the petition at Regenerate America. When Congress sees how many of us want this change, they will take notice.
- Contact your representative and let them know you support the policy recommendations of Regenerate America. The link will give you suggestions for what to write or say.