Welcome to the Food Policy Debrief, where we shed much-needed light on how corporations and organizations can engage with progressive food policy. Join us once a month as we provide news updates, demystify policy, and provide opportunities for advocacy!

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TL;DR

Wonderful Co. filed a lawsuit to have pro-union state laws declared unconstitutional
In celebration of Pride, check out these 3 queer-owned companies and two queer-led nonprofits that are improving the food world
House Farm Bill markup becomes a food fight; tees up an even bigger brawl
Bonus: LGBTQIA2S+ perspectives on the food system

This Month’s Standout Food Stories

Advocacy Opportunities

The Coalition on Human Needs is collecting signatures for an open letter to Congress, urging that any Farm Bill must. ensure that SNAP is protected and strengthened. Sign it here!

The James Beard Foundation, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Environmental Working Group also released an open letter to Congress urging them to address the impacts of climate change in the 2024 Farm Bill. Sign it here!

Social Impact Spotlight

Shedding light on companies leading by example and engaging in food policy in a meaningful way

Cowgirl Creamery: Focuses on sustainable agriculture by partnering with local dairies to source organic, pasture-based, cow’s milk for all products.

Diaspora Co.: Works to put money, equity, and power into the regenerative spice farms across South Asia by partnering with small, family-owned farms and paying them 3-5x more for their regeneratively farmed, single-source spices.

Explorer Cold Brew: Partners closely with Charity: Water, a leading provider of clean water access, as well as prioritizes sustainability throughout their supply chain.

Plus, check out the Queer Food Foundation and Queer Farmers Network, two queer-led nonprofits making waves in the food system.

Farm Bill Food Fight

House Farm Bill Markup Becomes A Food Fight, and Tees Up an Even Bigger One

On Thursday, May 23rd, the House Agriculture Committee held a markup of the long-delayed 2024 Farm Bill. If that sentence means nothing to you, don’t panic. We’re going to break it down.

We watched all twelve hours of Congress marking up the bill so you don’t have to. Let’s get into it.

What’s the Farm Bill?

According to the Congressional Research Service, the Farm Bill is an, “omnibus, multiyear law that governs an array of agricultural and food programs” which, translated from DC speak, means it is a very large bill, including both new bills and amendments to past laws, that governs much of U.S. food, farm, and environmental policy.

At first, the Farm Bill was primarily to support farmers devastated by the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, but eventually grew in size and scope to include the programs it does today, including nutrition programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The Farm Bill is reauthorized every five years, and since the last Farm Bill was passed into law in 2018, it’s long overdue. Because of the wild ride of politics (remember how a faction in the House removed their speaker over government funding?) Congress gave itself some breathing room and provided the 2018 Farm Bill a one-year extension until September 30th, 2024.

So now that I know what the Farm Bill is, what’s a markup?

A markup is a working session of a Congressional committee where a draft piece of legislation is presented to the committee of jurisdiction (aka the committee which has power over one or all of the subjects covered in the bill). The Committee then has the opportunity to debate, revise, or amend the current draft, and then it votes on the final, amended draft.

One way to think about it is that a markup is the final review of the group project before you present it to the class for feedback.

Most of the time, markups come after a series of formal hearings where members are allowed to outline their priorities and ask questions of witnesses selected by both the majority and minority.

Other than some more informal field hearings throughout the country last year, current Chairman Glen “GT” Thompson largely skipped the formal hearing process and moved the current House draft of the Farm Bill straight to markup. Skipping the formal hearing process added fuel to the frustration of many Democratic members who felt they had not had adequate deliberation on the legislation before markup.

So basically, now the group project leader took some notes at the beginning, kind of went ahead and did most of the work without consulting much of the group, made some huge changes to the original idea, and then asked for feedback half-heartedly, all while accusing some of the members of the group of not doing enough.

But Isn’t Congress On a Deadline?

Congress is not only on deadline to pass a Farm Bill before September 30, but it’s also an election year.Plus, the bill itself and the dynamics of the House Majority put the bill in serious danger.

While four Democrats voted to move the bill forward out of committee, they still largely hoped there would be further changes and amendments to the nutrition title before it reached the floor. Multiple members of the House Republican Majority have consistently voted against previous Farm Bills, and so Democratic votes will be needed to pass the Farm Bill on the floor. But without major changes to the nutrition title and other programs, there are no guarantees this will happen. Some members, like anti-hunger champion Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, have even said they would rather have no Farm Bill than one that increased hunger.

Oh, and did we mention that the Farm Bill also has to be marked up in the Senate, pass the Senate, get reconciled with the House version (if it passes), then get signed into law all before September 30th? If you got tired reading this, just imagine how Congressional staff feel.

So What’s The Fight About?

Put simply—a lot. If you are a devoted viewer of Real Housewives (like at least one of the authors of this newsletter), you might live for the drama, but as a policy wonk and as someone who knows the impact this legislation can have on our everyday lives, you might be a little disappointed. Much of the fight was, as we mentioned previously, about process and procedure. But there are many key policy proposals that could cause a lot of harm, these include:

Adjustments to SNAP benefit calculations that could cut the program by $30 billion, as well as a failure to adjust Puerto Rico’s nutrition assistance program away from block grants
Cuts to USDA Disaster Relief Programs through the Commodity Credit Corporation
Changes to animal welfare laws that might impact pork markets and preempt many state laws improving animal welfare
- Sidenote: Over 20 companies—including ButcherBox, Whole Foods, Applegate, and Purdue Farms—are pushing back
Removal of the the climate guardrails from the Inflation Reduction Act’s investments in USDA’s conservation programs and diverts funding away from popular climate-reduction programs

In next month’s edition, we’ll outline some of the key differences between the current House version and the Senate version (though the Senate has yet to schedule a markup of their own), and keep you updated on what’s sure to be a steamy summer ahead in Washington.

LGBTQIA2S + Perspectives on the Food System

A few weeks ago, our very own Will Thomas was part of a panel at the Anti-Hunger Policy Conference about LGBTQIA2S+ Food Insecurity, Outreach, and Advocacy. In honor of Pride month, we wanted to share some of these poignant perspectives from LGBTQIA+ voices in the food space:

“The biggest issue is food affordability. Food costs are rising and access to healthier food is decreasing. It is well known that marginalized populations in the food industry tend to have lower-paying jobs. The employees cannot even afford to buy on the menu where they work because of the low wages. Proper nutrition is essential to perform at your best during the workday. The most promising solution is to start providing family meals for workers on shift. An initiative like this can be done for workspaces food-related or not. At least one meal a day from an employer can make a big difference.”

–*Vanessa Parish, Executive Director,* *Queer Food Foundation*

“I want to call attention to the impact that discrimination has on LGBTQ+ people in the food system. On top of other types of discrimination, the LGBTQ+ community faces high rates of anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination–sometimes including legalized discrimination in many arenas of life, including employment, housing, healthcare, public assistance and safety. Discrimination in these arenas contributes to the disproportionately high rates of poverty and food insecurity experienced by LGBTQ+ people, especially LGBTQ+ people of color and people with disabilities, impacting whether they’re able to even afford food. Discrimination impacts whether LGBTQ+ people can safely navigate nutrition program enrollment processes and receive the benefits they’re entitled to, access charitable food assistance, or redeem their benefits.

Tragically, discrimination also impacts whether LGBTQ+ people can safely navigate the world, use public transportation, shop, or even live to see another meal. There is no simple solution to discrimination, but the rise in intentionally intersectional collaboration and solidarity, especially among younger generations, gives me hope. In some spaces, LGBTQ+ people have gained influence that previous generations had to seize or create for themselves. In my experience, those of us who can are leveraging that influence and our privilege to uplift the voices of the oppressed and call attention to the disparities experienced by the queer community and other oppressed communities. Allies are often doing the same, avoiding the pitfalls of horizontal hostility. The road ahead is murky, but I have faith that we are creating a future that brings all of us closer to equity.”

–Fleurian Filkins, Policy Analyst and LGBTQIA2S+ Advocate