Agriculture

Bullying, insults achieve nothing for farmers in U.S., Canada or Mexico

MINNEAPOLIS—In response to the announcement that NAFTA negotiations with Canada have been suspended until Wednesday and the Trump administration has sent a notice to Congress of its intention to sign a trade agreement with Mexico, with or without Canada, IATP Senior Attorney Sharon Treat issued the following statement:

Will the Farm Bill deliver for the climate?

The clock is ticking—for our farmers and for the planet. From wildfires to drought, climate-related extreme weather events are taking a toll on farmers and increasing in frequency and cost. Despite these risks, Congress has consistently placed its head firmly in the sand when it comes to addressing climate change in the Farm Bill.

USDA's newly detailed aid package fails to address causes of farm crisis

MINNEAPOLIS—On Monday, the United States Department of Agriculture released the details of its "three-pronged approach" to aiding farmers affected by retaliatory agricultural tariffs. In response, Ben Lilliston, Director of Rural Strategies and Climate Change at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, issued the following statement:

Uprooted Episode 42: Gaming the Grass Fed Beef Market

Josh talks with Ben Lilliston about the growth of the grass fed beef market, and how global agribusiness is using labeling loopholes to sell imported grass fed beef as "product of the U.S.A." You can read Ben's comment to USDA here. 

Regulate new GE techniques? U.S. (never) vs. EU (yes)

New agricultural technologies present new challenges for assessing risks and tailoring risk management measures for those technologies. However, governments, particularly those that have invested taxpayer money to develop the technologies, may not adapt to meet those challenges. The U.S. and EU are taking very different approaches to that task.

Uprooted Episode 40: Giving to farmers with one hand, taking a whole lot more with the other

Josh and Steve Suppan talk about the $12 billion aid package to farmers who have been affected by tariff retaliation.

Stop Meat Companies from Rigging the Grass-fed Market

Food companies have a long history of keeping consumers in dark about the origins of their food. But outright deception is another level of darkness. There are strong signs that global meat companies are taking advantage of a loophole to label imported beef, particularly grass-fed, as “Product of U.S.A.”

IATP Comment on "Product of U.S.A." Food Labeling

August 2, 2018  U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)  Docket ID: FSIS-2018-0024 - https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=FSIS-2018-0024 

Five Red Flags for Food, Farming and Fair Trade Under the UK’s New Brexit Plan

Brexit presents a number of significant risks to the future of sustainable food and agriculture in the UK, the EU and around the world. Until now, those risks have been speculative. But recent actions by the UK government have raised the stakes and presented five significant risks as a result of Brexit.

CFFE Statement on President Trump's Visit to Iowa

President Trump’s bailout is a Band Aid for a farm economy that is hemorrhaging. We need to ask why U.S. farmers and rural communities are so vulnerable to tariffs from other countries. The answer is a broken farm policy, created by corporate agribusiness, that prioritizes overproduction over everything else — including our farmers, our communities and our environment.