A True Health Crisis Government spending to treat diet-related diseases like cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes, accounts for 54% of the $383.6 billion dollars in health care costs to treat these conditions. Think of the lives and dollars that could be saved if people had access to diets that prevent these diseases in the first […]
Fiber-rich Foods are Low-GHG By aiming farm policy to prioritize plant-based (i.e. fiber-rich) foods, the USDA could contribute hundreds of tons of CO2 eq to carbon drawdown efforts every year. (Of note, fiber is only found in plant-based foods.) AFA proposes the Farm and Ranch Mobility Solutions Act (FARMS) as climate-smart ag policy, here’s why: Potential for Carbon Drawdown […]
According to publicly available data, the US is severely undersupplying dietary fiber as a nutrient, so it’s no surprise that most Americans only eat half the daily recommended dietary fiber. In fact, over 90% of Americans are fiber deficient, a deficiency that is linked to the most common, deadly, and costly diseases we face. A […]
US farm spending should make sense. Based on publicly available data, AFA estimates that only 8% of federal farm spending goes toward producing fiber-rich foods, even when federal nutritional guidelines urge us to fill 80% of our plates with these same foods. And only 3% of farm spending goes to producing fruits and veggies, even […]
In early 2021, AFA decided to analyze US federal agriculture subsidies for 2020. It was no small task as it required tracking down nonpublic data from siloed USDA agency websites. Not only was the data not uniform across agencies, sometimes the data simply weren’t there. For example, there was no published data showing how much […]
Recently, AFA hosted a webinar making the case for prioritizing fiber-rich foods in farm policy. Tracye McQuirter, MPH, public health nutritionist, author, and founder of 10 Million Black Vegan Women joined a panel of experts making the case to prioritize fiber-rich foods in federal policy. Here, she explains that in the 1960s, African Americans were […]
Woodleaf Farm is located in eastern Oregon. Established in 2016, this 211-acre farm grows 85 varieties of fruit, is home to 200 hazelnut trees, and produces vegetables year-round. Nearly a closed-loop farming system, the farm utilizes chopped hay from nearby fields to fertilize vegetable and fruit fields. Helen Atthowe explains why the FARMS Act is […]
AFA Letters to the Editor (LtEs) and Op-Eds advance AFA’s mission by creating a calling card that AFA’s Government Affairs Advocates can use to get a meeting with your representatives. LtEs socialize messaging that AFA lobbying depends on. When voters care about the issues we care about, that translates to voting power. AFA-supporter published Letters […]
AFA’s draft legislation, the “Farm and Ranch Mobility Solutions Act” (FARMS) is for American farmers wanting to transition or diversify into growing fiber-rich food crops. With FARMS, farmers will have options to participate in the fast-growing plant-based food industry. As they diversify, they’ll alleviate America’s dietary fiber crisis. Read more about the FARMS Act here.
Recently, the Agriculture Fairness Alliance hosted a panel of experts who made the case for prioritizing fiber-rich foods in federal farm policy, including creating a transition pilot program by enacting the Farm and Ranch Mobility Solutions Act. Meet Paul, a 5th generation Wisconsin dairy farmer who sees the writing on the wall for the dairy […]