{"id":250921,"date":"2024-05-14T22:06:25","date_gmt":"2024-05-14T22:06:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.republicofgreen.com\/ask-a-scientist-stopping-big-ag-from-hijacking-us-farm-and-food-policy\/"},"modified":"2024-05-15T01:51:25","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T01:51:25","slug":"ask-a-scientist-stopping-big-ag-from-hijacking-us-farm-and-food-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.republicofgreen.com\/ask-a-scientist-stopping-big-ag-from-hijacking-us-farm-and-food-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"Ask a Scientist: Stopping Big Ag from Hijacking US Farm and Food Policy"},"content":{"rendered":"
Every five years or so, Congress reauthorizes a comprehensive, multibillion-dollar law that has a major impact not only on farmers and ranchers\u2014who make up less than 2 percent of the US population\u2014but also on the environment, public health, and the economy. Generically called the \u201cfarm\u201d bill, it is actually a farm and<\/em> food bill that supports a wide range of programs, including ones that cover crop insurance, financial credit, and export subsidies for farmers, as well as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. SNAP, which eats up 80 percent of the bills\u2019 total budget, currently serves 41 million low-income Americans.<\/p>\n The first farm bills, a product of President Franklin Roosevelt\u2019s New Deal, were enacted in the 1930s in response to the Great Depression and drought-driven Dust Bowl catastrophe. Unfortunately, the…<\/p>\n<\/div>\n