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…
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) has released its 2018 Farm Bill platform, the result of months of consultation with farm and food organizations across the country. It outlines the progress made in American agriculture policy, and steps still needed to ensure that the bill reaches its aims of supporting farmers and eaters. An overall theme…
This month, BFI Policy Director Nina F. Ichikawa attended the summer meeting of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) in Madison, Wisconsin. This coalition of diverse groups is one of the most active hubs working on food and farming policy. The meeting had an emphasis on the Farm Bill, as well as a racial equity…
At BFI, we are watching intently as the US Senate debates repealing and/or replacing the Affordable Care Act. According to a recently published study from an ongoing research project at the University of Vermont, an alarming 64% of farmers and ranchers report having a pre-existing condition. Furthermore, 72% of farmers must take on a secondary job to cover healthcare…
The Healthy Food Access Portal, developed by PolicyLink, The Food Trust, and Reinvestment Fund, is an online hub of resources that supports advocates, entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders by providing them with the tools to address issues across the food system from production and distribution to retail and recovery. Revamped content includes a Find Money and Policy Efforts by State map, a Healthy Food Access…