Food | Environment.org

For Immediate Release

Contact: Laura Zaks

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

press@sustainableagriculture.net

Release: Stabenow Introduces Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act

Comprehensive Farm Bill Draft Would Strengthen Support for Farmers and Rural Communities

Washington, DC, November 19, 2024 – Yesterday, U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) introduced the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act which builds upon the framework released earlier this year and makes strategic investments to move agriculture forward.

“The Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act highlights the longstanding path – and shrinking window – to completing a bipartisan farm bill this year. The bill would build a more fair and accessible farm safety net for farmers and ranchers, make robust investments in local and regional food systems, and protect generational conservation and climate resources as farmers nationwide battle extreme weather,” said Mike Lavender,

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Guest Post: Is the Future of Organic Food at Risk? Research Funding Holds the Answer

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| Sustainability

Editor’s Note: This blog post is a guest post authored by Gordon Merrick, Senior Policy and Programs Manager at the Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) and Mark Schonbeck, Research Associate, also at OFRF, which is an NSAC member.

The world is increasingly recognizing the value of sustainable food systems, and organic agriculture plays a vital role in this movement. Organic practices enhance soil health and biodiversity, foster resource regeneration, and help mitigate and build resilience to climate change. This translates to healthier food and a healthier environment and reduces reliance on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

However, recent budget proposals by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) suggest a concerning decrease in funding for organic research programs. If implemented, this shift could stifle the progress documented by these programs, hindering the …

Extreme heat disproportionately exacerbates health issues by threatening fresh food supply

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| Climate

Nature Climate Change, Published online: 23 October 2024; doi:10.1038/s41558-024-02172-2

Record-breaking temperatures pose critical risks to the global food supply, particularly endangering fresh produce. Urgent enhancements in food safety measures, including re-evaluating the impact of food production, improving cold chain logistics and adapting dietary practices, are required to ensure the resilience of food systems and public health.
Nature Climate Change…

Trump’s proposed mass deportations could ‘decimate’ the US food supply

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| Pollution

As Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump campaigns for a second term in the White House, the former president has repeatedly promised to enact the largest deportation of undocumented immigrants in U.S. history. It’s a bold threat that legal experts say should be taken seriously, despite the significant technical and logistical challenges posed by deporting 11 million people from the U.S.

Even if only somewhat successful, Trump’s hard-line approach to immigration — with its laser focus on removing immigrants who live in the U.S. without permanent legal status — has the potential to uproot countless communities and families by conducting sweeping raids and placing people in detention centers.

Mass deportation would also, according to economists, labor groups, and immigration advocates, threaten the economy and disrupt the U.S. food supply chain, which is reliant on many forms of migrant labor.

The ramifications of a …

Reducing climate change impacts from the global food system through diet shifts

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| Climate

Nature Climate Change, Published online: 13 August 2024; doi:10.1038/s41558-024-02084-1

Food choices greatly affect global GHG emissions, but the contributions of different groups, across or within countries, are highly unequal. Adopting the global planetary health diet could yield co-benefits by reducing both emissions and inequality among populations.
Nature Climate Change…

Publisher Correction: Warming food webs at high latitudes

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| Climate

Nature Climate Change, Published online: 19 June 2024; doi:10.1038/s41558-024-02049-4

Publisher Correction: Warming food webs at high latitudes
Nature Climate Change…

Comment: NSAC Responds to House Agriculture Committee Markup of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act

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| Sustainability

For Immediate Release

Contact: Laura Zaks

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

press@sustainableagriculture.net

Tel. 347.563.6408

Comment: NSAC Responds to House Agriculture Committee Markup of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act

Washington, DC, May 24, 2024 – Early this morning, the US House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture reported the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 (HR 8467), out of committee on a vote of 33-21. In response, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) released the following comment, attributable to Mike Lavender, NSAC Policy Director.

“NSAC is encouraged to be one step closer to a new farm bill. The Farm, Food, and National Security Act approved by the House Agriculture Committee, however, remains fundamentally unchanged, falling short of meeting our members’ key priorities. We look forward to continuing to work with the House and Senate Agriculture Committees toward

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A Deep Dive on the Senate’s Farm Bill Proposal: the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act of 2024

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| Sustainability

On May 1, 2024 – after months of stalled farm bill negotiations on both sides of Capitol Hill – Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) released a detailed section-by-section summary of her farm bill proposal. NSAC welcomed the pragmatic Senate bill, the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act of 2024 (RPFSA), as an important step toward completing a bipartisan farm bill reauthorization this year.

The RPFSA protects conservation and climate funding included in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), strengthens access to the farm safety net, invests in local and regional food systems, fully protects nutrition assistance, and takes meaningful steps toward a more racially just food and farm system, all while rejecting harmful policies that would undercut local and state authority and restrict the Secretary of Agriculture’s authority to respond to emergent agricultural needs. In this post, NSAC …