News & Analysis

Generic filters
Exact matches only
Sunset farmers in field

Farm Bill Updates

About every five years, the U.S. Congress passes the biggest set of food and farming policies that define the majority of federal farm, food, nutrition, and rural economic programs. At a cost of about $440 billion over five years, these programs influence: What is grown; who grows it; how it is grown or produced; what is done with those products and where they are sold; who can access and afford those goods; and how we invest in rural communities.

Watch and listen as two experienced farmers share stories and practical approaches for small-scale, diversified farms that use the principles of agroecology.  This discussion may provide you with ideas that small farms where you live can adapt and thrive.

After many long days of negotiations, the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) made a historic move for safer food and farming by passing a resolution on highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) that calls for action to globally phase out the use of the world’s most toxic pesticides by 2035. Tied with this resolution was the passing of a mandate for UNEP to implement this commitment by forming the Global Alliance on HHPs.

lead image puzzle 1

Consumer, food safety and environmental groups praise Klobuchar, question if Sessions can be trusted on antitrust enforcement

WASHINGTON, DC — Yesterday, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, questioned Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) on his commitment to enforce antitrust laws, after President-elect Donald Trump’s meetings with agrichemical giants Monsanto

Read More »
lead image puzzle

Consumer, food safety and environmental groups praise Klobuchar, question if Sessions can be trusted on antitrust enforcement

WASHINGTON, DC — Yesterday, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, questioned Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) on his commitment to enforce antitrust laws, after President-elect Donald Trump’s meetings with agrichemical giants Monsanto

Read More »
Businessman-business-card

A corporate fox in every henhouse

As questions about the legitimacy of the Trump presidency continue to emerge, the president-elect and his team are plowing forward with some astonishing choices to lead our federal agencies. From Departments of Energy and State to Housing, Labor and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), almost

Read More »
lead image fly bee 1

EPA continues to ignore major risks to bees from pesticides

In the final days of the Obama administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released two Thursday afternoon announcements regarding pollinator health; both fall short of addressing dramatic bee population declines with meaningful action. In particular, the new guidance policy and four pesticide risk pesticide assessments

Read More »
Strawberry-picker-farm-workers

EPA stands firm on worker safety rules

After 15 long years of research and public input, the Environmental Protection Agnecy (EPA) finalized urgently needed improvements to the Worker Protection Standard (WPS) on September, 2015. With the political landscape now in flux, the agency is facing strong push-back from Big Ag representatives on

Read More »
PAN iconJoin PAN to receive the latest news and alerts straight to your inbox.