The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) recently released a report analyzing the influence of lobbying on food and agriculture systems. The report finds that agribusinesses, industry associations, and other interest groups have spent more than US$500 million to influence legislation, including the Farm Bill, from 2019-2023.
The Farm Bill is an omnibus bill that covers issues across food and agriculture systems including financial credit for farmers, resource conservation and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). It is renewed approximately every five years by Congress. The current Farm Bill, which expired in September 2023, was extended for an additional year.
Over the last five years, agribusiness annual lobbying expenditures “have risen 22 percent, from US$145 in 2019 to million to US$177 million in 2023,” the report states.
The researchers looked at quarterly lobbying disclosure reports and campaign donations to Congress officials associated with the Farm Bill during reelection periods in 2019-2023 to determine the reach of influence of corporate lobbying over the bill.
The report finds that out of more than 560 industry associations, special interest groups and advocacy organizations that lobbied on the 2024 Farm Bill, among the highest spenders were the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Crystal Sugar Company, the American Farm Bureau Federation, and Koch Industries.
“It’s very clear that Big Ag corporations have hijacked our food system for profit, and a big part of that is how they shape the public policies that govern food and farming,” Karen Stillerman, Deputy Director of the Union of Concerned Scientists Food and Environment Program, tells Food Tank.
The authors also find that agribusiness-linked political donors spent an additional US$3.4 million in campaign contributions.
“We wanted to see what we would find if we searched for lobbying disclosures that specified ‘Farm Bill’ over the full five years of that legislation’s cycle,” says Stillerman. “It’s important the corporate leaders and decision makers in Congress know that the public sees this influence. Just exposing it is a step toward stopping it.”
Despite the progress being made on tracking agribusiness lobbying, it is still unclear how much individual groups spend on the Farm Bill and what it goes towards, according to the report. Currently, individual lobbying reports are not required to disclose the amount of money spent on individual bills nor specify which parts of bills they lobby on. This makes determining the influence of corporate lobbying on the Farm Bill more difficult to outline.
Stillerman emphasizes the responsibility of legislators to uphold “the needs of small and midsize farms, historically marginalized farmers, food workers, and consumers” over the interests of giant corporations and industry groups in future Farm Bills. UCS and 100 partner organizations have endorsed a slate of 34 marker bills that seek to promote competitive agriculture markets, weaken monopolistic practices, increase access to resources, and uplift historically marginalized farmers.
The report recommends stronger antitrust laws, greater transparency around corporate influence over policymaking, and increased public participation in agency rulemaking.
“A pay-to-play food and farm bill that prioritizes corporate profits is bad for the health of people, the environment, and farm communities,” says Stillerman, “organizations working to make the food and farm system fairer and more sustainable do not have the money, staffing, or influence to compete with giant corporations and industry groups.”
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Photo courtesy of James Baltz, Unsplash
