How to Fight a Factory Farm

How do we transform food systems to make agroecological transitions possible on a large scale? In the final episode of Agroecology Uprooted, hear from Sophia Murphy, Ernesto Mendez, and Raj Patel on some of the policy changes that can help agroecology thrive, and what it takes to make them happen.    Agroecology Uprooted is produced by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. If you enjoyed...

Food is about more than just the calories we need to survive. The expansion of corporate-controlled industrial agriculture has meant the loss of traditional knowledge, diverse genetic resources, and communities’ power to control their own food systems.    In Episode Four of Agroecology Uprooted, hear from Ernesto Méndez, Sagari Ramdas, and Leticia López about why food sovereignty is central to agr...

Food systems and biodiversity are deeply intertwined. Agroecology is grounded in biodiversity, taking advantage of ecological processes and relationships to improve farm resilience and productivity. But the dominant industrial agriculture system works against biodiversity in ways that are harming human health, driving mass extinction, and threatening all of life on earth.  In episode three of Agro...

Around the world, farmers adopting agroecological practices are rebuilding their soil, growing an abundance of food, and decreasing their reliance on external inputs. As war and political turmoil disrupt fertilizer and fuel supplies globally, agroecology is a way to build resilience in a destabilized world.    In episode two of Agroecology Uprooted, hear from Raj Patel on how the war in Iran is im...

As the war in Iran squeezes fertilizer and fuel supplies, there is renewed attention on the vulnerability of global food systems. But the roots of this current crisis go much deeper. In episode one of Agroecology Uprooted, we begin with a look at the systems that shape how we produce and access food, the ways that the industrial food system is pushing our planet beyond its natural boundaries, and...

New podcast miniseries coming soon from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy: Agroecology Uprooted. With food systems and the planet in crisis, what would true resilient, sustainable, and just solutions look like? The answer may lie in a method called agroecology, a holistic approach to food, agriculture, nature, and social systems that’s already taking root around the globe. In this upc...

The rise of factory farms in the U.S. didn't happen by accident. Corporate influence over our political system has created policies that subsidize and incentivize the industrial model and allow factory farms to pollute with impunity, even creating new revenue streams that greenwash their climate impacts. Our food system does not have to be this way. Members of the Campaign for Family Farms and the...

Despite the well-documented harms to the environment and rural economies, the CAFO system continues to expand. But its growth is not inevitable. In South Dakota, Iowa and all across factory farm country, everyday people are stepping up and organizing their neighbors to prevent factory farms from being built in their communities. How to fight a factory farm? People power. In this episode, hear from...

What does it mean to get big or get out? As CAFOs began to take over livestock production in the U.S. through the 1990s, the consequences of this corporate-controlled, vertically-integrated system rippled throughout rural economies, putting smaller independent farmers and their suppliers out of business, and trapping others in debt and dependence on exploitative meat companies. In this episode, he...

What is a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO), and what does it mean that nearly all farm animals in the U.S. are now raised in them? Factory farms are a major change from how livestock was traditionally raised, and the billions of gallons of manure produced by these facilities are causing major problems for neighbors, the environment and anyone downstream. Independent family farmers and...

Coming October 2 from the Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment, a new four-part podcast series about factory farms, and the farmers and rural organizers fighting to end them: How to Fight a Factory Farm.   How to Fight a Factory Farm is produced by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, a member of the Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment. Thank you to our intern, Anna K...

Eight months after the original deadline, there’s been some movement on the new Farm Bill – but political conflicts and agribusiness influence present a challenge. Learn about how the policy process works and hear from IATP’s Michael Happ and Ben Lilliston about the House Farm Bill draft and what comes next. 

In Episode Six of the Farm Bill Uprooted, hear from experts from across the food system on what changes are needed in the 2023 Farm Bill and beyond. From nutrition access to fair markets to climate resilience, a better food system is possible; it’s up to us to demand it.    References and Further Reading:  Closing the Meal Gap Act   Improving Access to Nutrition Act   Enhanced Access to SNAP Act  ...

The Farm Bill shapes our food and farm system in the U.S., and, through the Nutrition Title, helps millions of Americans afford food. But with nutrition assistance programs like SNAP vulnerable to cuts, and rural food access weakened by decades of corporate consolidation, how well is the Farm Bill really serving eaters? In Episode Five of the Farm Bill Uprooted, hear from IATP's Erin McKee VanSloo...

Over the past few decades, the landscape of the food and farm system has become more concentrated, less diverse and less resilient. In Episode Four of the Farm Bill Uprooted, hear from Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment’s (CFFE) Patty Lovera and Iowa Interfaith Power and Light’s (IIPL) Elston Tortuga about how corporate consolidation in the food system has impacted farmers and rural com...

How does credit access shape our food and agriculture system? In Episode Three of the Farm Bill Uprooted, hear from IATP’s  Dr. Steve Suppan , along with  Margaret Krome-Lukens  and  Ray Jeffers  of  RAFI-USA , about how the Farm Bill Credit Title both undermines climate resilience by propping up the industrial model of production and reinforces a history of racism in American agriculture. Learn m...

After decades of Farm Bill policy incentivizing the overproduction of commodity crops, conventional agriculture in the U.S. has taken an increasing toll on water, soil and the climate — and on farmers’ own ability to withstand extreme weather and climate disruptions. Episode Two of the Farm Bill Uprooted features IATP’s Michael Happ and the University of Iowa’s Dr. Silvia Secchi on industrial agri...

How do we ensure fair prices for farmers and consumers while building climate resilience, protecting the environment and sustaining rural communities? And what happens when Farm Bill policies incentivize the opposite approach? Hear from IATP’s Ben Lilliston and Karen Hansen-Kuhn in Episode One of the Farm Bill Uprooted, which dives into Farm Bill basics, and how it’s shaped a food and farm system...

The Farm Bill sets the course for our food and agriculture system in the U.S. – and right now, there's a lot that's not working. How did we get here? And how can we fix it? Coming soon from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, a new 6-part podcast series: The Farm Bill Uprooted. Episode One premieres July 12. Featuring: Dr. Silvia Secchi, University of Iowa Lilly Richard, IATP Michael H...

After an extended negotiation, COP27 concluded on November 20th, 2022 with, for the most part, a disappointing outcome. Despite the hopeful decision to create a dedicated Loss and Damage fund for countries most impacted by climate disasters, COP27's final agreement fell short of what we need to keep the planet under 1.5 C degrees of warming. In our final episode of the series, we discuss how the c...

Ahead of IATP's final days at COP27, hear from Shefali Sharma on progress at the conference and the struggle to hold governing bodies accountable. Visit our  COP27 web hub  for more articles, reports and media.

With COP27 under way in Sharm El-Sheikh, hear a message from IATP's Sophia Murphy on her experience so far, recorded in the early hours before Day 5 of the conference. Learn more about Article 6.4 and what needs to be done to regulate offset markets here and visit our COP27 web hub at iatp.org/cop27-2022 .

With COP27 fast approaching, and recent reports from the  UNEP  and the  WMO  warning that the world is not on track to stay below 1.5 degrees of warming, the time for real, transformative change is now. In this episode, hear from IATP Executive Director  Sophia Murphy  and IATP Europe Director  Shefali Sharma , both of whom will be travelling to Egypt for this year's COP, on the role of civil soc...

For almost 30 years, the world's countries have been meeting at an annual global climate conference, the UNFCCC COP, to try to coordinate responses to the accelerating climate crisis. In Episode 2 of our podcast series on  COP27 , we'll delve into the conference itself. Hear from IATP experts  Ben Lilliston  and  Steve Suppan  about the history and significance of the COP, starting with the 1992 E...

Our industrialized food and farming systems are both driving the climate crisis and threatened by it. How did we get here? And what path can we take toward true climate resilience? In this episode, hear from IATP’s Senior Policy Analyst Shiney Varghese and Senior Advisor Timothy A. Wise on the realities of the current globalized system of industrial agriculture and an emerging alternative:  Agroec...