Ag Lobby Archive

17 April

Slime Me Once

Written by Don Carr

Richard Berman is slime, but you probably already knew that. Berman runs the Center for Consumer Freedom, a notorious front group for agribusiness and food companies. His misdeeds are well documented, and Berman is a PR mercenary so beholden to the interests of his corporate food benefactors he’s been publicly disowned by his own...

#ROA #Republicofawesome Ag Lobby, Animal Welfare, Food Comments are off

08 January

Trump Embraces the Ag-Right

Written by Don Carr

President Trump is set to address the annual American Farm Bureau Federation conference in Nashville, Tenn., this afternoon. On the surface it may seem like Trump is giving a speech to one of our nation’s most beloved icons – the American farmer. But, the Farm Bureau actually represents a small, tight-knit clan of wealthy, far-right ideologues...

#ROA, Republicofawesome Ag Lobby, ag-right, politics, White House Comments are off

14 September

Trump’s Farm Guy Spreads Food Stamp Fraud Manure

Written by Don Carr

Today the Senate Agriculture Committee is holding a hearing on fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — better known as food stamps. The hearing is at the behest of Senate Agriculture Committee chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS). According to Bloomberg News, Roberts is using the hearing as a beachhead for a larger plan...

#ROA, Republicofawesome Ag Lobby, farm subsidies, food stamps Comments are off

11 February

Fooling Ourselves With Polls

Written by Don Carr

The situation in Flint, Michigan has rightly has put a spotlight on the deplorable state of drinking water in America. Water pollution in the U.S. from agriculture is also a big problem getting bigger. From Toledo to Des Moines, municipal water systems are being overwhelmed trying to filter out farm pollutants. The residents of Adrian, Minnesota...

#ROA, Republicofawesome Ag Lobby, conservation Comments are off

08 February

Cruz Storms “King” Corn’s Castle

Written by Don Carr

Because of the outsized role they play in American politics, there will always be debate over the farm lobby’s power. The first in the nation Iowa presidential primary caucus has been a barometer of the corn and ethanol lobbies’ influence in particular due to the state’s huge output of both. This time around Texas...

#ROA, Republicofawesome Ag Lobby, ethanol, politics, White House Comments are off

11 January

The Farm Bureau Four

Written by Don Carr

Food and farm reformers have rightly been focusing on the presidential primary season, urging candidates to talk about agriculture and engage in “good food” issues. But there’s another presidential race that will have profound impacts on our future food and farm system. And this contest has been flying under the radar of the good...

#ROA, Republicofawesome Ag Lobby, food movement, politics Comments are off

17 December

Monsanto’s Climate Cowardice

Written by Don Carr

The increasing vagaries of climate change are already having profound impacts on agriculture and how we grow our food. The short of it is unless we find a way to drastically reduce green house gas emissions while sequestrating more carbon, we’re screwed. Droughts, floods, volatile weather and pests will make it much harder to...

#ROA, Republicofawesome Ag Lobby, Climate Change, GMO Comments are off

13 November

The Wrong Way

Written by Don Carr

Republican Matt Bevin’s recent triumph for the governorship in Kentucky underscores the long downward slide for Democrats in rural America. Due to Tea Party waves and cycles of lackluster outreach efforts the blue squad has seen its numbers dwindle in farm country. What could help farm state D’s wander out of the darkness? According...

#ROA, Republicofawesome, TheRepublicofawesome Ag Lobby, ethanol, politics Comments are off

18 September

It’s Good to be the King

Written by Don Carr

There have been rumors of the demise of the farm lobby’s power. But recent events with agriculture check-offs suggest otherwise. Check-offs are government monitored promotion programs that siphon off money from farmers to pay for marketing and research. They are the money machine behind much of the ag and food sector’s marketing appeals, and sometimes sketchier efforts....

Ag Lobby, conservation, politics Comments are off

31 July

Avian flu is hammering hens — should poultry farmers get a bailout?

Written by Don Carr

You may have noticed that the price of eggs has gone up. That’s partially due to the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza epidemic that decimated poultry farms across 15 U.S. states this spring. The death toll from the flu and culling has surged to over 48 million birds. The bulk were egg-laying hens, many concentrated in massive...

#ROA, Republicofawesome Ag Lobby, Animal Welfare, farm subsidies Comments are off

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