Farm Bill: The Agriculture Definition and Food Security Amendment, by Jeff Greenfield, National Review Online, January 28, 2018.
The agriculture definition and food security amendment of the farm bill provides new farm policy and nutrition goals that focus on food security and the environment.
The agricultural definition and nutrition amendment provides: To enhance the food security of the American people, we will: (1) Improve the nutrition of Americans by expanding access to nutritious food and healthy food choices to those who are most vulnerable, including pregnant women, older adults, the disabled, and individuals with chronic conditions; (2) support farmers and ranchers who need assistance to grow and sell their crops and livestock to feed the hungry; and (3) encourage farmers and other producers to diversify their operations and to employ fewer workers and reduce their reliance on migrant labor and domestic labor.
Agriculture Definition and Nutrition Amendment, USDA, January 22, 2018, https://www.susan.usda.gov/AgriculturalDefinitionandNutritionAmendments/Agenda/Agendas/2012022-20120122.pdf.
In a statement to USDA officials, the agri-food industry, including the United States Dairy Council, the National Association of Dairy Producers, and the National Pork Producers Council, said they support the agriculture definition. “The agrifood definition and nutrient goals for food security in the Agriculture and Food Dependency bill are critical to our nation’s agricultural production,” the dairy industry statement read.
“We also support the definition and goals in the bill to ensure that farmers and producers can benefit from new and innovative methods to increase their productivity and increase the value of their crops, so that they can meet the growing demand for American products.”
The pork industry statement also praised the agribusiness definition and said they welcome the new goals.
“The agribUSDA definition of a farm is defined as one that produces a certain percentage of its food using natural resources, such as water, sunlight, and nutrients from the soil,” the statement read, adding that agribuses definition of farm includes farmers that have to buy inputs and equipment to grow their crops.
“AgribusDA will be an opportunity to help more Americans increase their food security by investing in farm and food production.”
A growing number of food manufacturers, including food processors and processors of pork and beef products, have also expressed support for the agricultural definition and nutritional goals.
The agrifood industry has also said the goal of the bill is to ensure access to fresh, nutritious food.
Last year, the White House announced a goal of producing 100% of its agricultural food domestically using natural and renewable resources.
President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, along with other cabinet secretaries and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, have been pushing to get more of the United State’s agricultural output from organic farming.
A 2014 White House report found that the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, and Germany are leading the world in producing organic food.
“The United States needs to focus on our own agricultural production and transition to a biodynamic system,” according to the report.
Since 2017, the USDA has also introduced two nutrition goals for the Agriculture Definition of Farm.
According to the agriculture definitions, farmers must: increase the percentage of their total food and feed produced using renewable resources to 80% by 2025; reduce the percentage to 50% by 2027; increased the percentage by 30% by 2022; cut back on water use to 40% by 2020; and reduced the percentage in 2025 by 15%.
The agriculture definition also includes the goal to increase the number of acres of farmland in the United Nations System by 50% from 2020 to 2030.
The definition also outlines a goal to reduce the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions from the United Nation system from 2030 to 2040.
On February 8, 2018 the USDA released a draft of the Agricultural Definition of Food Security and Nutrition. (The agra-food definition is the first of two new goals set for the 2017 Farm Bill, the Agricultural Definitions of Food Safety and Nutrition, and a draft version of the nutrition goals.
The second goal is a goal for the United Sates to reduce its greenhouse gas emission by 40% from 2040 to 2050.)
Agenda Statement, USDA (March 24, 2018), https://agenda.usdoj.gov.
Farm Bill: USDA: Agricultural Definition and Nutrition Amendments, by Jeffrey Greenfield (National Review Online), January 28 of 2018.
