For Immediate Release: April 13, 2018
Washington, DC – In response to the introduction of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway’s (R-TX) version of the 2018 Farm Bill, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (H.R. 2), PAN Senior Scientist Dr. Margaret Reeves, PhD, released the following statement:
“The Conaway draft Farm Bill exacerbates problems already facing communities across the country, pulling the rug out from under already vulnerable Americans. Among the most egregious proposals are efforts to limit participation in nutrition assistance programs, gut conservation programs, and cutting off innovation through local food promotion. Moreover, the current proposal fails to reign in the power of the nation’s largest industrial farms by not closing loopholes on subsidy payments, while shifting the focus of farm loans by raising caps.
Moving forward, the 2018 Farm Bill should center on efforts to build healthy communities and fair farm economies, strengthen worker justice and grow a food system that works for us into the future.
While few bright spots exist, we applaud Conaway and encourage expansion of resources for beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers and the continuation of the food insecurity nutrition incentive program, to allow more Americans to purchase fruits and vegetables.”
For more on PAN’s Federal Food & Farm Platform for the Future, read our recent blog.
Press Contact: Paul Towers, 916-216-1082, ptowers@panna.org
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