Supplemental Questions for The Farm Bill

THE

“Required reading for anyone who cares about what we eat.”

— from the foreword by Marion Nestle

FARM BILL

A CITIZEN’S GUIDE If you eat, pay taxes, or care about our nation’s food supply,

this book is for you.

DANIEL IMHOFF WITH CHRISTINA BADARACCO

The Farm Bill: A Citizen's Guide

By Daniel Imhoff and Christina Badaracco Island Press, 2019 https://islandpress.org/book/the-farm-bill

Supplementary Questions

PART I

Farm Bill Basics

Chapter 1

What Is the Farm Bill?

Chapter 2

Why Does the Farm Bill Matter?

Chapter 3

Who Benefits From the Farm Bill?

1. What role does the USDA play in regulating the US food system?

2. How does the distribution of America’s farms and farmers differ from the time of the first Farm Bill?

3. Name and explain five effects of the prevalence of cheap corn on society and the environment.

4. Based on your knowledge thus far, why do unhealthy foods tend to be less expensive than healthy foods?

1. What are the three ways US citizens pay for food? What are some of the negative externalities related to our food production?

2. Review the list of challenges in “Course Correction.” Choose three “pressing challenges” and propose and explain an additional possible solution for each.

3. Who are considered to be some of the primary beneficiaries of the current system of agricultural subsidies?

4. Name and explain five areas to which Farm Bill dollars can be redirected to better invest in a viable future for our food system.

1. Why is the Farm Bill considered to be an “omnibus legislation?”

2. Which are the four titles receiving the greatest amount of funding and what type of programs does each include?

3. What were the original goals of crop subsidy programs and how have those evolved over the history of Farm Bills?

4. Based on what you know so far, which of the subsidy categories listed in “Crop Subsidies at a Glance” do you think results in the worst environmental impacts and why?

Chapter 4

How Does the Farm Bill Work?

1. What is the difference between mandatory funding and discretionary funding?

Which bodies are responsible for determining the amounts directed to each?

2. Explain the definition of ChIMPing. Which programs have been most affected by this process over the life of the 2014 Farm Bill?

3. How do you think the high proportion of underfunding for programs described in this chapter affects farmers’ decisions to adopt conservation practices?

4. Share an example of one way in which appropriations committees “assume interpretive legislative powers” beyond cutting budgets. How did this impact (or might it have impacted) the beneficiaries of its target program?

PART II

The History of Food Policy

Chapter 5

Origins of the Farm Bill

Chapter 6

The Changing Face of Agriculture

Chapter 7

The Changing Face of Hunger

1. Explain how overplanting of crops contributed to both the 1930s farm crisis and the Dust Bowl.

2. When was the first Farm Bill passed and what problems did its creators aim to address?

3. Given what you know about President Roosevelt’s New Deal, how did the programs created by the early Farm Bills support or oppose his other policy objectives?

4. Explain how both nutrition assistance and aid to farmers, now the two foundations of the Farm Bill, were first established.

1. How did advancements made during World War II contribute to the Green Revolution?

2. Why did Secretary Earl Butz begin to drive increased efficiency in agricultural production in the US during the 1970s?

3. What were the factors the contributed to the development of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and how are they identified?

4. How did the Butz era impact the distribution and structure of farms in the US? 1. Describe the earliest version of the food stamp program. How did World War II affect it?

2. How were the prevalence of hunger and food insecurity elevated in public vision during the 1960s and 1970s?

3. Who is deemed eligible to receive benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program?

4. Explain three proven benefits of participating in SNAP as well as three shortcomings or negative effects.

Chapter 8 The Conservation Era

1. What conditions led to the beginning of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) as we know it today in the 1985 Farm Bill? How did the creators of CRP aim to address those conditions?

2. How does the Environmental Quality Incentives Program support CAFOs? Do you think they should quality for these benefits?

3. How was the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program developed in the 2014 Farm Bill? How do you think such program consolidation affects the beneficiaries of these programs?

4. How do you think requiring conservation measures for enrolling in Farm Bill programs (as was the case in the early versions) would address many of the negative environmental effects of industrialized agriculture we experience today?

PART III

Key Policy Issues

Chapter 9

Crop Subsidies

1. What type of subsidy system did the 1998 Farm Bill create and how did this ultimately impact crop prices?

2. What type of payments did the 2002 Farm Bill make permanent? How did these payments depend on planting decisions for each upcoming year?

3. Define “direct” and “countercyclical” subsidy payments. How does each form of payment depend on base acreage?

4. What is the predominant form of crop subsidies used today? How do you think this form of payments impacts farmers’ decision-making?

Chapter 10 Nutrition, SNAP, and Healthy Eating

1. How did the Great Recession affect recipients of SNAP benefits?

2. What is the “Thrifty Food Plan” and how does it inform administrators of the SNAP program?

3. Describe three components of the Nutrition title added in the 2014 Farm Bill that support production and consumption of healthier food.

4. Explain how the Farm Bill supports organic agriculture. How do you think this should change to promote a more sustainable food system?

Chapter 11 Agribusiness versus Family Farms 1. What are the top four categories of “foods” funded by Farm Bill subsidies and what are the other purposes for which these items are used?

2. What is the type of farm experiencing the most precipitous decline? What is the approximate range of income these farms earn?

3. How has the reliance on off-farm income changed over the past two decades and what has driven that change?

4. Based on the loophole and exploitations discussed in this chapter, explain three changes that could be made to Farm Bill program eligibility to improve “fairness.”

Chapter 12 Job Creation

1. What factors are causing the aging of America’s farming population?

2. Describe the changing ethnicities of America’s farming population and how the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program aims to support these rising groups.

3. Name at least three benefits to society from investing in beginning farmer programs.

4. Define the term “food hub” and explain how this model can help small farmers expand their markets.

Chapter 13 Trade

1. What body determines which subsidies are “trade-distorting?” How do US subsidies compare to international limits?

2. What is meant by corn “dumping” and how is the rate of dumping determined?

3. What was the US’s WTO trade dispute with Brazil about? What was the outcome?

4. How did other countries and the WTO respond to the US passage of Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) and what is the current status of COOL?

Chapter 14 An Alternative System

1. What was the government’s initial response when New Zealand’s farmers experienced falling prices and shrinking markets during the 1970s and early 1980s?

2. What economic conditions did New Zealand experience during the six years following the restructuring of its agricultural policies in 1984?

3. Name three potential environmental impacts of the growing demand from China for meat and milk.

4. Provide three reasons why you might or might not recommend the UK reconsider implementing a system of agricultural policy based on crop insurance programs once it officially leaves the EU.

PART IV

Reforming the Farm Bill

Chapter 15 Opportunities for Change

1. From the list of challenges listed on page 114, which do you think is the most pressing issue for the next iteration of the Farm Bill to address and why?

2. Describe at least two reasons why healthcare practitioners should be concerned about the current structure of the Farm Bill and two ways in which healthcare practitioners and/or facilities could support a healthier food system?

3. Looking at the “turning points” in the nutrition programs over the past century, which do you think was the most beneficial for their recipients and why?

4. Looking at the “turning points” in the conservation programs over the past century, which do you think was the most harmful for the country and why?

Chapter 16 Public Health

1. What categories of “foods” account for the majority of the increase in Americans’ caloric intake over the past 50 years? How does the Farm Bill support those items?

2. How has Americans’ meat consumption changed over the past 50 years? How does the Farm Bill influence these trends?

3. Describe one initiative presented thus far in the book that can help reduce the barriers to expanded production of and access to healthy fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and legumes.

4. Explain how our current agricultural system has contributed to the Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

Chapter 17 Food Security

1. How do farmers markets obtain funding for incentive programs for SNAP recipients, such as San Francisco’s Market Match program?

2. How have studies shown the diets of SNAP recipients to compare to people of comparable income level but who do not receive SNAP benefits?

3. What are two potential means to improve nutrition through the SNAP program discussed in this chapter?

4. Access USDA’s Food Desert Locator. Do you see any regions considered “low income” and “low access” in your city or town?

Chapter 18 Ethanol

1. What is the Renewable Fuel Standard and how does it affect ethanol production?

2. Identify at least two reasons why cellulosic ethanol (or other fuels) is preferable to corn-based ethanol.

3. According to the most recent estimated presented here, how much gasoline is displaced by ethanol in the US each year? Other than using a different type of fuel, propose two other means by which Americans’ gasoline could be reduced.

4. Briefly describe two potential benefits and two potential concerns with genetically modifying seeds for biofuel crops.

Chapter 19 Energy and Climate Change

1. Briefly explain how raising animals on pasture helps to retain carbon and nitrogen—critical nutrients for plant growth—in the soil better than does raising them in CAFOs. 2. What percentage of energy use in the entire food system goes toward agricultural production?

3. How have the number of project requests and appropriate projects through the Rural Energy for America Program changed under the 2014 Farm Bill?

4. Cover crops offer many benefits to farmers and the environment. Briefly explain why many choose to not plant them, instead letting land lie fallow or applying more synthetic fertilizer.

Chapter 20 Conservation

1. Briefly explain two reasons why it is concerning that 1.6 million acres of longterm grasslands were converted to cropland between 2008 and 2012.

2. What two programs in the Conservation Reserve Program are considered “disincentive” policies and what effect(s) do they have?

3. The Conservation Stewardship Program is a full entitlement program. What does that mean for applicants? Name three examples of requirements farmers must exhibit to prove eligibility.

4. Identify at least three benefits to Pickering Creek Audubon Center’s local ecosystem and society from the funding it received from the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program and its overarching Conservation Reserve Program.

Chapter 21 National Security

1. What is the top medical basis for rejecting young Americans from serving in the military and how has this changed over the past century?

2. Briefly describe two concerns for how our industrialized food system is susceptible to acts of bioterrorism and two suggestions for reducing that risk.

3. Why would increasing the prevalence of home gardens help to improve food insecurity?

4. Identify two means by which recent Farm Bills have increased opportunities for military veterans.

PART V

The Future of Food Policy

Chapter 22 Ecosystem-Based Agriculture

1. Define the term monoculture. How does an agriculture system structured around monocultures affect surrounding biodiversity?

2. Distinguish between perennial and annual crops. Why would planting more perennial crops be advantageous for farmers?

3. Define the term agroecology. How does this describe a system distinct from our industrialized agriculture system?

4. How can pursuit of perennial crops be supported through the Farm Bill? Hint: Look back to Chapter 3 to review the various titles.

Chapter 23 Local Food

1. Briefly explain how farm-to-institution programs are beneficial to farmers. How could such a program even be preferable to selling at a farmers market in the same city?

2. How has the private sector helped to increase federal food benefits through the Farm Bill?

3. Chapter 19 offered many recommendations for possible ways to reduce food waste on farms. How do you think consumer behavior can better contribute to this effort?

4. Visit ReFED’s US Food Waste Policy Finder. Identify one policy that hinders or supports food waste recycling, recovery, or prevention in your city or state.

Chapter 24 A Citizen's Farm Bill

1. This chapter highlights how all citizens interact—intentionally or not—with the food system on a daily basis. Thinking about your dietary behaviors, what is one change you can make (or suggest to a family member) to achieve some of the goals discussed in the book thus far?

2. Share an example of a family member or friend who works in a capacity that influences the US food system.

3. Describe an example discussed in the book thus far in which goals of two Farm Bill programs counteract each other.

4. Based on what you have learned, how would you answer the question posted about “whether the industrial mega-farm model is the only way to feed a growing global population?”

Chapter 25 Twenty-Five Solutions

1. Which of the solutions posed in this chapter do you think is most novel among Farm Bill priorities today and why?

2. Which of the solutions posed in this chapter do you think is (or would be) most controversial amidst today’s political and economic climate?

3. Which of the solutions posed in this chapter do you think would make the most positive impact on reducing our national deficit?

Chapter 26 A Vision of Sustainable Food

1. If the most recent Farm Bill continues to be the status quo, what do you think the US agricultural system will look like 50 years into the future?

2. If you helped to write a Labor title for a future Farm Bill, what sort of programs and policies do you think would be important to include?

3. Identify one example of a way the Farm Bill can begin to impose a “no subsidization without social obligation” approach?

4. Do you have any further thoughts about an important new direction for the Farm Bill to take in the future?

Activist Tool Kit

1. 1 After reading this book, have you discovered any topics that particularly interest or concern you? Find at least one organization or institution in Step 2 that works in this area.

2. In Step 3, find one of your state’s senators or Congressmen who sits on an agriculture committee. Has he/she contributed to the 2018 Farm Bill?

www.islandpress.org Phone: (202) 232-7933 Fax: (202) 234-1328 Island Press 2000 M Street NW Suite 650 Washington, DC 20036

THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE FARM BILL PAPERBACK: $22.00 PAGES: 224 PUBLISHING: OCTOBER 2018 ISBN: 9781610919746

The Farm Bill

A Citizen’s Guide Daniel Imhoff with Christina Badaracco The Farm Bill is one of the most important pieces of legislation the American president signs. Negotiated every five to seven years, it has tremendous implications for food production, nutrition USE PROMOCODE

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assistance, habitat conservation, international trade, and much more. Yet at nearly 1,000 pages, it is difficult to understand for policymakers, let alone citizens. In this primer, Dan Imhoff and Christina Badaracco translate all the “legalease” and political jargon into an accessible, graphics-rich 200 pages. Readers will learn the basic elements of the bill, its origins and history, and perhaps most importantly, the battles that will determine the direction of food

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policy in the coming years.

Daniel Imhoff with Christina Badaracco

D

an Imhoff is the author of multiple books about the food system, including CAFO: The Tragedy of Industrial Animal Factories (winner of the

C

hristina Badaracco is a registered dietitian. She has done clinical nutrition research at the National Institutes of Health, menu planning and nutrition education at the Oakland Unified Nautilus 2011 Gold Prize for Investigative School District, and communications at the Reporting), Farming with the Wild, and Farming and the Fate of Wild Nature (with Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water.

Jo Ann Baumgartner).

More books of interest: The Food Sharing Revolution How Start-Ups, Pop-Ups, and Co-Ops are Changing the Way We Eat Michael S. Carolan A hopeful look at the ways the sharing economy can transform our food system and challenge corporate agriculture.

HARDCOVER: $28.00 (208 PAGES. 2018.

9781610918862.)

Nourished Planet Sustainability in the Global Food System Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition, edited by Danielle Nierenberg Offers a global plan for feeding ourselves sustainably.

Food from the Radical Center Healing Our Land and Communities Gary Paul Nabhan The leader of the local food movement shares a new approach to food and our broken political system HARDCOVER: $28.00 (256 PAGES. 2018.

9781610919197.)

How to Feed the World Jessica Eise and Ken Foster An accessible but wide‑ranging look at the modern food system.

PAPERBACK: $30.00 (256 PAGES. 2018.

9781610918848.)

PAPERBACK: $25.00 (304 PAGES. 2018.

9781610918947.)

Phone: 202.232.7933 Fax: 202.234.1328 Island Press 2000 M Street NW Suite 650 Washington, DC 20036