We’ve asked political candidates and representatives to take a variety of positions to stop climate catastrophe. Ban fracking everywhere, stop exports of crude oil and gas, support renewable energy initiatives.
But what they also need to realize is that reining in the fossil fuel industry alone is not enough to save us from climate catastrophe. Factory Farms are unsustainable and contribute to carbon emissions. We need to ban factory farms and stop big agribusiness — and we can do that through the Farm System Reform Act.
This bill would place an immediate moratorium on the construction of new or expanding large concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), with a phaseout of existing large facilities by 2040.
Where I live, communities in Iowa face the hazards of factory farms on a daily basis. We’ve seen factory farming contribute to the impairment of more than 750 waterways across the state.¹ And the economic security of rural places diminishes when factory farms begin to dominate the landscape. Because of the presence of factory farms, small businesses suffer, local jobs dwindle, and tax revenue decreases, placing essential community services at risk.
We cannot continue business as usual as communities across the country are used, and abused, by corporations that care more about profits than our collective well-being.
As the presidential primary steams ahead, we need to know that candidates will protect our fundamental rights to clean water and a healthy climate. The Farm System Reform Act is the gold standard of federal legislation to achieve this, but we need to act now to gain momentum.
Food & Water Action and its affiliated organization, Food & Water Watch, are advocacy groups with a common mission to protect our food, water and climate. This email was sent to [email protected] - and we're glad you got it, because it's one of the most important ways you can reclaim political power, hold elected officials accountable and resist corporate control.
