Food system workers are at the forefront of this year’s midterm elections, notably in our nation’s capital where voters will decide June 19 whether to support Initiative 77, which would eliminate the subminimum wage for tipped employees. If it passes, the current $3.33 an hour tipped minimum wage would rise by 2026 to $15. For…

The California Farm Bureau Federation (CFBF) broke with the American Farm Bureau to oppose the Agricultural Guestworker (AG) Act (HR 4092), introduced by Congressman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia. CFBF President Jamie Johannson appeared with BFI’s Policy Director Nina F. Ichikawa on a panel at the California Certified Organic Farmers annual meeting in Sacramento last month, speaking passionately on the professionalism and…

California Superior Court Judge Hon. Timothy Frawley issued an injunction on February 22, stopping the CA Department of Food and Agriculture’s pesticide program until the agency complies with state environmental laws. Since 2014 over 1,000 pesticide treatments have been carried out using chemicals known to cause cancer and birth defects. Last week’s court ruling is a victory for the…

When “ag gag laws” began to be proposed in the early 2000s, they attracted nationwide attention for their bans on photography and video in livestock feeding and processing facilities by journalists and activists. A recent federal appellate court ruling struck down Idaho’s version of this law and declared that it attempted to “regulate speech protected by…

The proposed tax bill, which the Senate will vote on on Friday, December 8, has been promoted as a boon for family farms. One of its proposed provisions is the estate tax exemption, which advocates claim will allow families to more easily pass on farming businesses. According to the Tax Policy Center, however, the exemption will only…