Agriculture

IATP advocacy advances help for farmers devastated by "forever chemicals”

Laissez-faire national policy has long allowed sludge from sewage and industrial wastewater to be used as fertilizer on food and feed crops, even though it contains toxic Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) and hundreds of other toxic chemicals.

The next big (pesticide) thing and protecting farmworker health

One of the tragedies of new pesticide technologies is that the corporate imperative to maximize sales leads to a faster turning of the pesticide treadmill.

African community leaders tell Congress: Stop funding African Green Revolution

The following article was originally published by Food Tank on May 4, 2022. 

Nanotechnology-enabled genetically engineered RNA interference pesticides: Socioeconomic context, modes of action and risks

Watch a recording of a presentation delivered by IATP's Dr. Steve Suppan above titled "Nano-enabled RNAi based pesticides: Modes of Action, risks and regulation."

First-in-nation "forever chemical” policies become law in Maine

MINNEAPOLIS—In Maine, a coalition of farmers and farm groups, including the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, public health advocates and state legislators worked to enact groundbreaking legislation to stop toxic Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) contamination of farms, food and water.

Millions in federal conservation program money in the Midwest go toward large farms, practices that make the environment worse

A new report from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) finds that in 2020, in the 12 Midwest states, over $56 million in federal conservation dollars were spent on industrial agricultural practices.

Payments for Pollution: How federal conservation programs can better benefit farmers and the environment

Comments on the proposed trade pillar of an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework

To read the full letter to USTR Katherine Tai submitted on April 11, 2022, please download a PDF of the letter. 

Advancing interconnected solutions to the food, energy and finance crises

The governing body of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) met in Rome on April 8, 2022 in an Extraordinary Session

Conservation Reserve Program food price letter to USDA

Appetite For Change, Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake Counties Farmers Union (Ohio), Climate Land Leaders - Sharing Our Roots, Compañeras Campesinas, Defenders of Wildlife, Earthjustice, Environmental Working Group, Family Farm Defenders, Farm Aid, Farmworker Association of Florida, Food Insight Group, Georgia Organics, Illinois Stewardship Alliance, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, Land Stewardship Project, League of Conservation Voters, Missouri Coalition for the Environment, MOSES - Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service, National Center for Appropriate Technology, National Family Farm Coalition, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, National Wildlife Federation, National Young Farmers Coalition, Natural Resources Defense Council, Nebraska Wildlife Federation, Nourish Colorado, Rural Coalition, Rural Vermont, Union of Concerned Scientists

April 1st, 2022

Agriculture

Farm Bill

To read the full letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack delivered on March 31, 2022, please download a PDF of the letter.  Dear Mr. Secretary,