{"id":2146,"date":"2020-09-09T18:11:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-09T18:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/farmforward1.wpengine.com\/?p=2146"},"modified":"2022-11-22T03:19:02","modified_gmt":"2022-11-22T03:19:02","slug":"farm-forward-joins-diverse-group-of-advocates-to-endorse-farm-system-reform-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/news\/farm-forward-joins-diverse-group-of-advocates-to-endorse-farm-system-reform-act\/","title":{"rendered":"Farm Forward Joins Diverse Group of Advocates to Endorse Farm System Reform Act\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\t
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Washington, DC — Today Farm Forward joined nearly 300 local, state and national advocacy organizations in\u00a0<\/span>sending a letter to Congress<\/span> urging passage of the Farm System Reform Act (S.3221\/HR.6718), introduced by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA). As COVID-19 further exposes the exploitation and injustice in the food system, the letter recognizes that \u201cthis visionary legislation meets the scale of action necessary to transform our farming and food system in a timeline that reflects the urgency of its problems.\u201d The letter was facilitated by the national advocacy organization Food & Water Action, and signed by others groups including Family Farm Action, Waterkeeper Alliance, Johns Hopkins Center For A Livable Future and ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Among other things, the <\/span>Farm System Reform Act<\/span><\/a> would halt the establishment of new factory farm operations (otherwise known as concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs) and prohibit the expansion of existing ones. It would also provide a $100 billion voluntary buyout program for contract farmers who wish to transition away from the factory farm system.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe factory farm agricultural model, which dominates our country\u2019s food system, fuels toxic air and water contamination, drives dangerous and unfair working conditions, wreaks havoc on independent farmers and rural communities, and threatens food safety,\u201d said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch, the organizer of the letter. \u201cThe Farm System Reform Act is the bold approach we need to bring dangerous factory farming under control now, and begin the necessary transformation to a safe and equitable future for food consumers and workers alike.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur independent family farmers and ranchers are continuing to be squeezed by large, multinational corporations that, because of their buying power and size, run roughshod over the marketplace. We need to fix the broken system \u2013 that means protecting family farmers and ranchers and holding corporate integrators responsible for the harm they are causing,\u201d said Senator Cory Booker. \u201cLarge factory farms are harmful to rural communities, public health, and the environment and we must immediately begin to transition to a more sustainable and humane system.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“The Farm System Reform Act will ensure that huge corporations no longer have a stranglehold on our food supply,\u201d said Representative Ro Khanna. \u201cIt’s important for our farmers, the economy, the environment, and animal welfare. I’m proud to see the growing coalition of groups organizing to support the bill.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As the letter points out,\u00a0 \u201c…The U.S. food system is dominated by factory farms that confine tens of thousands of animals in cramped, unsanitary conditions; these conditions place the safety of our food at risk, pollute our air and water, harm the welfare of animals and workers, extract wealth from rural communities, increase the risk of antibiotic resistant bacteria and increase corporate control of our food.\u201d<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This legislation will revitalize independent family farm agriculture and rural communities by:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n