Stephanie Kelemen is a law student enrolled in the Harvard Law School Food Law & Policy Clinic and guest contributor on this blog. Buried deep in the 2018 Farm Bill, under the Conservation title, Congress established a peculiar program with $75m of mandatory funding: the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program. Prior to encountering this Section, I had never…
Ava Cilia is a law student in the Harvard Law School Food Law & Policy Clinic and guest contributor on this blog. Between 1910 and 1998 Black Americans lost about 90% of their farmland. Along with decades of notably racist practices by USDA, white supremacist violence, and the Great Migration, this disturbing trend is partially the result of the lack…
The USDA recently released its interim final rule regulating the production of hemp. Hemp, a resurging commodity, has recently found its way back into the hearts of Americans and has a wide variety of uses. Hemp is a cannabis plant that can be found in fabric, paper, construction materials, food products, cosmetics, the production of cannabinoids such as cannabidiol (CBD), and…
Environmental issues ranging from water pollution to biodiversity loss to soil erosion remain an ever looming presence. However, many people may be unaware of the role that agriculture plays in many of these problems. Unfortunately, there are few mandatory regulations dictating how agricultural land use interacts with the environment. Instead, mitigating agriculture’s impact on the environment rests largely on the…
Originally published at American College for Environmental Lawyers Cross-posted with permission from the author Roughly every five years, Congress revises and renews the Farm Bill to fund our nation’s food security, nutrition, and farm conservation programs. The 2018 Farm Bill, which passed with large bipartisan majorities in both chambers, is surprisingly climate-conscious. Its successes will serve as a foundation upon…
The 2018 Farm Bill just passed the House (368-47), after passing the Senate yesterday (87-13). The Bill now goes to the President’s desk. Here is the 10,000 foot view of the 2018 Farm Bill as it relates to FBLE priorities: Food Waste FBLE is thrilled to see that all of the provisions in the House and Senate drafts of the…
Cross-posted from the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation Blog. 40 percent of food in the U.S. goes to waste each year, costing billions of dollars, preventing wholesome food from getting to people in need, and causing tremendous ecological harm. The 2018 Farm Bill represents a crucial opportunity to address food waste in a way that benefits farmers, consumers,…
Corrected 10/10/2018: An earlier version of this blog post misstated that the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) does not have funding for FY19, thereby indicating FDPIR as an orphan program. This was incorrect. FDPIR is funded though the SNAP budget and, like SNAP, will continue to operate. The program within FDPIR that loses baseline funding is a $1…
This is a two part blog post. Part One covers the background of the legislative process and Part Two covers the specifics about the scenarios for farm bill programs if the 2018 Farm Bill were to simply expire. The Conference Committee convenes next week on September 4, 2018. Conferees from both Houses will work to reconcile their versions of the…
This is a two part blog post. Part One covers the background of the legislative process and Part Two covers the specifics about the scenarios for farm bill programs if the 2018 Farm Bill were to simply expire. The Conference Committee convenes next week on September 4, 2018. Conferees from both Houses will work to reconcile their versions of the…