Today, Family Farm Action Alliance released a comprehensive toolkit for the 117th Congress to tackle the dangerous levels of consolidation in today’s food system. Its policy recommendations are based on conclusions from the pivotal report, “The Food System: Concentration and Its Impacts,” authored by leading food system experts Dr. Mary Hendrickson, Dr. Phil Howard, Emily Miller, and Dr. Doug Constance.
The toolkit sets out a course of action for Congress to implement change in “The Food System” report’s six key points of intervention: 1. curbing globalized concentration; 2. implementing anti-racist food and farm policy; 3. prioritizing resilience, not efficiency; 4. redefining the status quo; 5. supporting local and regional food systems; and 6. transitioning to a just and resilient agrifood system.
The toolkit includes:
- Policy Recommendations to the 117th Congress: an introduction to the issues and a deep dive into specific policy recommendations.
- Concise action steps for each of the six points of intervention: walks elected officials through three levels of action they can choose to take, including refiling or co-sponsoring previously developed legislation, pushing for administrative action, or becoming a champion of an issue area.
- Table of legislative packages filed previously, highlighting points of intervention contained in each.
Emily Miller, an author of both the “The Food System” report and the new Congressional toolkit, said, “We are striking while the iron is hot. In 2017, polling showed that 65% of people saw corporate monopolies as a big problem, and in 2020 that number had grown to 87%. The time for Congress to address the corporate consolidation crisis is now. Our research provides Congress with evidence of why they must take swift action to bring justice to our food system, and our policy toolkit leaves no room for inaction.”
Following the release of this toolkit, Family Farm Action Alliance’s political partner organization, Family Farm Action, will push legislators to take action in support of our recommendations, laying the foundation for a transformative 2023 farm bill.
Media Contact: Angela Huffman, angela@farmaction.us
