Food & Agriculture Updates

Food and Agriculture

Resources and Updates

Documents & Links

This chapter explores the connections between agriculture and food, first by considering issues of food, nutrition and public health and then by exploring the impact of climate change on food security.

Note that the previous link, Chapter 10, Food Safety addresses updates to food safety regulation. See Chapter 3, Agriculture and the Environment for additional issues related to climate change.

What is food?

I am sorry to report the passing of a longstanding leader of food system thought and reform, Joan Gussow:

Joan Dye Gussow, Pioneer of Eating Locally, Is Dead at 96, ("An indefatigable gardener, she was one of the first nutritionists to emphasize the connections between farming practices and consumers’ health") NY Times, (Mar. 8, 2025).
Tribute by Mark WInne, How to Wrap a Fig Tree and Other Lessons from Joan Gussow (1928 to 2025) (Mar. 17, 2025).

Relevant Reports

Meat, Poultry, and Egg Product Labeling, Cong. Res. Serv. Rep. No. R48427 (Feb. 19, 2025)
Organic Agriculture Standards: Oversight and Enforcement, Cong. Res. Serv. Rep. No. R48379 (Jan. 30, 2025).

Local Food

Rep. Chelley Pingree, along with 82 member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Adam Schiff along with a a group of 32 U.S. Senators each sent letters to USDA criticizing the USDA decision to cancel local food contracts: Pingree House Letter ; Schiff Senate letter
- Pushback Over Cutting Local Food Grants: How Does Cutting Local Food Programs Help Make America Healthy Again? Editorial by Chris Clayton, Progressive Farmer (Mar. 17, 2025)

The USDA announced that it was canceling $1 billion in contracts under the Local Food for Schools Program and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement. Both programs funded the purchase of locally grown foods by communities, schools, and assistance organization. See, news reports:
- USDA cancels $1B in local food purchasing for schools, food banks, Politico (Mar. 10, 2025);
- USDA cancels $1 billion in funding for schools and food banks to buy food from local suppliers, CBS (Mar. 13, 2025);
- Farmers face steep losses in the middle of Trump's trade war and funding cuts, NBC News (Mar. 14, 2025).

Nutrition & Heath

Dietary Guidance

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA): Current Status, Cong. Res. Serv. In Focus Rep. IF12963 (Apr. 10 , 2025).

Release of the 2025 Dietary Guidance Scientific Report (released in Dec. 2024; comment period until Feb. 2025) (report to be used by the USDA and HHS in formulating the Dietary Guidance for 2025-2030)

"Make America Healthy Again"

Major Reduction in HHS employees: RFK Jr. "I'm Fighting chronic disease, slashing fat at HHS, HHS Press Release (Apr. 10, 2025)

HHS Announces Transformation to Make American Healthy Again, HHS Press Release (Mar. 27, 2025) (announcing major restructuring plan for HHS); see also, HHS Cuts 10,000 employees in major overhaul of health agencies, CNN (Mar. 27, 2025); Reorganization plan criticized by CSPI, FDA Floats Chaotic Reorganization as Staff Purges Continue (Apr 7, 2025)

Pushback Over Cutting Local Food Grants: How Does Cutting Local Food Programs Help Make America Healthy Again? Editorial by Chris Clayton, Progressive Farmer (Mar. 17, 2025) (see Local Food, above)

Are beef tallow fries any healthier? These nutritionists say don't kid yourself, NPR (Mar. 14, 2025)

RFK Jr. tells food leaders he wants artificial dyes removed from food products before he leaves office, ABC News (Mar. 11, 2025)

HHS Secretary Kennedy Directs FDA to Explore Rulemaking to Eliminate Pathway for Companies to Self-Affirm Food Ingredients Are Safe, HHS Press Release (Mar. 10, 2025)

Executive Order establishing MAHA Commission; Executive Order, Establishing the President's Make America Healthy Again Commission (Feb. 13, 2025). In addition to the creation of a commission composed of many of the cabinet heads, the order declares:

"To fully address the growing health crisis in America, we must re-direct our national focus, in the public and private sectors, toward understanding and drastically lowering chronic disease rates and ending childhood chronic disease. This includes fresh thinking on nutrition, physical activity, healthy lifestyles, over-reliance on medication and treatments, the effects of new technological habits, environmental impacts, and food and drug quality and safety. We must restore the integrity of the scientific process by protecting expert recommendations from inappropriate influence and increasing transparency regarding existing data. We must ensure our healthcare system promotes health rather than just managing disease."

The order directs the new commission to deliver a report to the President in 100 days addressing ten specified issues and to deliver a "Make Our Children Healthy Again" Strategy that suggests the appropriate restructuring of the Federal Governments response to the childhood chronic disease crisis. . ."

Regulatory Actions and Analysis

Meat, Poultry, and Egg Product Labeling, Cong. Res. Serv. Rep. No. R48427 (Feb. 19, 2025).

Organic Agriculture Standards: Oversight and Enforcement, Cong. Res. Serv. Rep. No. R48379 (Jan. 30, 2025).

Proposed rule on Front-of-Package Nutrition Labeling

90 Fed.Reg. 5426 (Jan. 16, 2025) (proposed rule to be codified at 21 C.F.R. pt 101).

Announcement of proposed rule: Constituent Update (Jan. 14, 2025)

Order revoking the authorized uses of the food coloring FD&C Red No. 3 in food and ingested drugs (compliance date of Jan. 15, 2027 for food; Jan. 18, 2028 for drugs).

Order (Jan. 15, 2025); 90 Fed. Reg. 4628 (Jan. 16, 2025) (final amendment to order)

Announcement, FD&C Red No. 3

Final rule published updating the definition of "healthy"

89 Fed. Reg. 106,064 (Dec. 19, 2024) (final rule codified at 21 C.F.R. pt. 101) (effective Feb. 25, 2025, compliance date Feb. 25, 2028).

Announcement of new rule; links to infographics, fact sheets, etc.

Food Insecurity

Food banks feel the pain from higher prices and cuts to government programs, PBS NewsHour video segment (Apr. 10, 2025) (discussing the impact of food prices and government cuts on private food banks)

Budget Issues

Budget Resolutions from Congress will have a significant impact on food security and public health funding, as cuts to the food assistance programs are under discussion. This is an ongoing story to watch:

Proposed SNAP cuts could pressure low-income shoppers - and the retailers who serve them, CNBC (Apr. 16, 2025) (discussing House and Senate bill proposed reductions to USDA spending on nutrition programs)

From the Bipartisan Policy Center: "The Senate Budget Committee introduced a budget resolution for fiscal year (FY) 2025 and passed it out of committee on an 11-10 party line vote on February 12. If approved by both the House and Senate, it will unlock a reconciliation process that enables major tax-and-spending legislation to fast track and bypass the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster rule with a simple majority." See, What's in the FY2025 Senate Budget Resolution, Bipartisan Policy Center (Feb. 13, 2025).

Republican House Budget Proposal Passes Out of Committee (Feb. 13, 2025)

$4.5 trillion in tax breaks are paid for (in part) by a reduction of $230 billion from food assistance programs and $880 billion in cuts from Medicaid and health insurance under the Affordable Care Act; See, e.g., House GOP panel passes budget blueprint with $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and steep spending reductions, NBC News (Feb. 13, 2025)

Withdrawal from International Organizations and Elimination of Aid

While Food Farming & Sustainability limits its topics to domestic issues, the Trump administration's drastic reductions to U.S. international food assistance must be considered. Below are some of the many resources available:

Cuts to International Aid

Video explanation discussing the work of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) from Ted Koppel, CBS Sunday Morning: The Dangers Posed by Cuts to U.S. Foreign Aid (Apr. 20, 2025)

Trumps Aid Cuts Hit the Hungry in a City of Shellfire and Starvation, NYTimes (Apr. 20, 2025) (reporting on starvation in Sudan and the impact of the withdrawal of US aid)

The US ended food aid to the World Food Program and then restored some of it. See news reports:
- US restores urgent food aid, except in Afghanistan and Yemen, two of the world’s poorest countries, AP (Apr. 9, 2025)
- The US ends lifesaving food aid for millions. The World Food Program calls it a ‘death sentence,’ AP (Apr. 8, 2025)
- Trump administration terminates some USAID contracts providing lifesaving food aid, PBS NewsHour (Apr. 7, 2025).

Secretary of state says 83% of USAID programs are being canceled, CBS News (Mar. 10., 2025)

With the dismantling of USAID, is the Trump administration defying the Constitution? Scott Pelley, CBS Sixty Minutes Segment (Feb. 16, 2025)

USAID to Put Nearly All Staff on Leave Friday; Overseas Missions Shuttering, CBS News (Feb. 6, 2025)

Executive Order withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization, Executive Order, Withdrawing the United States From the World Health Organization (Jan. 20, 2025).

See Just Security for litigation updates

Reports and Analysis

The Congressional Research Service has excellent reports summarizing the federal nutrition programs. Listed below are only those published since January 2025. Others can be found at www.Congress.gov.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Errors and Fraud, Cong. Res. Serv. In Focus Rep. IF10860 (Apr. 7, 2025)
Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2025 Appropriations, Cong. Res. Rep. 48431 (Feb. 25, 2025)
Farm Bill Primer: Support for Tribal Food and Agriculture, Cong. Res. Serv. In Focus Rep. IF12160 (Feb. 5, 2025)
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): Benefit Theft Through Electronic Benefit Card Skimming, Cong. Res. Serv. Insight Rep. IN12419 (Jan. 7, 2025)
Farm Bill Primer: SNAP and Nutrition Title Programs, Cong. Res. Serv. In Focus Rep. IF2255 (Jan. 7, 2025)

Obesity

Climate Change Developments

For additional environmental updates, see updates for Chapter III, Agriculture and the Environment

U.S. Withdrawal from the Paris Agreement: Process and Potential Effects, Cong. Res. Serv. Rep. No. R48504 (Apr. 14, 2025).

Extreme Heat and Climate Change, Cong. Res. Serv. In Focus Rep. No. IF12733 (Mar. 11, 2025).

Farmers Legal Action Group, Inc. (FLAG) has published a Farmers’ Guide to Carbon Contracts.

"It is designed to help farmers understand carbon market contracts and make an informed decision about whether to agree to a carbon contract. In a carbon market contract, a farmer agrees to adopt certain farming practices that are expected to keep carbon in the ground or draw carbon from the air into the soil. Under the contract, farmers are paid to adopt these practices. The details for how the carbon is captured by farming practices, how farmers are paid, and other important requirements are set out in the carbon market contract. This Guide looks closely at those carbon market contracts from the farmer’s perspective. Farmers, farm advocates, farm attorneys, and others are welcome to consult, download, print, or share the Guide for free.

Farmers’ Guide to Carbon Markets – February 2025

Update, February 24, 2025: EarthJustice and the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University (on behalf of farm groups) sued the USDA for removing all of its climate change-focused information and pages from the USDA website. The Complaint seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, asking the court to restore access and to prevent further purging of the information from the website. See Farmers Sue Over Deletion of Climate Data From Government Websites, NY Times (Feb. 24, 2025)

USDA Dept of Communications Directs Removal of Climate Change from Gov't websites:
- USDA ordered to scrub climate change from websites, Politico (Jan. 31, 2025)

Executive Order withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, revoking the U.S. International Climate Finance Plan, and revoking or rescinding all policies implemented to advance the International Climate Finance Plan; Executive Order, Putting American First in International Environmental Agreements, (Jan. 20, 2025)

From the NOAA, National Centers for Environmental Information, Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters:

In 2024, there were 27 confirmed weather/climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each to affect United States. These events included 1 drought event, 1 flooding event, 17 severe storm events, 5 tropical cyclone events, 1 wildfire event, and 2 winter storm events. Overall, these events resulted in the deaths of 568 people and had significant economic effects on the areas impacted. The 1980–2024 annual average is 9.0 events (CPI-adjusted); the annual average for the most recent 5 years (2020–2024) is 23.0 events (CPI-adjusted).