Losing Ground: A Clarion Call for Farm Bill Reform to Ensure a Food Secure Future

摘要

There is no food without nature. Yet U.S. agriculture policies continue to perpetuate environmental harms. The largely voluntary approach to addressing environmental harms caused by agricultural production is simply not working. Soil and water degradation persist, undermining the nation's overall ecological health and foreclosing a food secure future in a time of rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and global population growth. Policymakers must renegotiate society's bargain with agriculture by adopting a policy of soil and wedands health, and must design a safety net that supports sustainable farming practices. Ultimately, a precondition of this renegotiation requires sustained and expert involvement of environmental and good food organizations, as well as citizens, in the Farm Bill process. Although many organizations have dabbled in the Farm Bill,sustained, expert involvement-beyond a handful of stalwarts-has been woefully lacking. Consider this a call to action.