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 […]
The following is a letter sent to Secretary Vilsack making the case for the USDA to prioritize fiber-rich foods across all farm programs.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommends making “half your plate fruits & vegetables.” Yet, the DGA also observes that 80-90% of Americans fail to consume the recommended amounts of vegetables and fruits. Meanwhile Americans consume too many refined grains, and for the most part eat adequate amounts of meat, poultry, and eggs. Interestingly, these […]
The following programs offered by USDA can help producers all along the plant-based food supply chain to increase or improve operations. This is not a complete list; it is simply a summary of some of the more relevant programs. For Plant-based Food Manufacturers Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) Read how the SCBGP funding was […]
A concentration of ownership and power has been developing in major industries throughout the U.S. This is particularly evident in the agri-food system, where a few companies at the top control critical aspects of our food production. As a result of this top-heavy structure, the needs of independent farmers—as well as the proper care of […]
The Agriculture Fairness Alliance aims to nudge the federal government toward climate-friendly food policy. So it’s good news that the 117th Congress and new leadership at USDA have set goals toward ‘climate-smart’ food production. For example, returning Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack reiterated this phrase often in his Senate confirmation hearing. However, old thinking may […]
in the December 2020 Omnibus Spending / COVID Relief Bill What’s SCBGP? It’s the Specialty Crops Block Grant Program which grants money to businesses, nonprofits, or universities to investigate innovative ways of improving plant-based food production. AFA fully supports this program. Why? Because It grants money for projects like the following: $110,000 awarded through the […]
Dan is a Wisconsin dairyman, but he longs to downsize his herd and embrace agroforestry. He wants to stop growing animal feed on his 1200 acres and diversify into growing food for humans, namely: hazelnuts. Why? Because he understands the environmental impact of dairy and would rather farm sustainably for current and future generations. Secondly, […]
Fifteen signatories and AFA sent a letter to Congressional leaders on May 12 calling to end factory farms, bust up big ag monopolies, and help animal farmers transition to sustainable and non-exploitative businesses while retaining their land. Over the next month, AFA supporters reported sending more than 300 letters to their representatives and senators. Congressmen […]
Dan, a Wisconsin Dairy farmer with 600 milking cows, wants to convert his 1200-acre farm into a hazelnut orchard. We determined that this transition would be like taking at least 1,310 and as many as 4,631 cars off the road in terms of global warming impact. We explained this wide-ranging impact of dairy in Part […]