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The United States Farm Bill is  the federal government’s primary legislative vehicle for establishing food and agricultural policy. As Congress considers the 2012 Farm Bill, it has the opportunity to effect positive change in the health of Americans, the environment, the nation’s food sustainability and the economy. In the current Farm Bill, less than 1% of the subsidies go towards vegetables and fruits (32,33).  It is imperative that the 2012 Farm Bill increases the availability and accessibility of healthy, nutritious food to Americans at affordable prices. U.S. agricultural policy should also discourage the nation’s excessive consumption of natural resources, which could devastate the environment beyond repair if continued at the current rate.

We urge Congress to pass a responsible Farm Bill in 2012 that is truly responsive to the needs of Americans and the nation’s current health, economic and environmental crisis, by including in it a provision that provides a subsidy to assist farmers engaged in Organic Plant Farming (OPF) – those who grow organic, plant-based foods. The following reasons necessitate such a program.

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1. Health: The U.S. is currently facing a health crisis. This is due in large part to the inordinate amount of animal products that have become a staple in the standard American diet; a diet that is associated with, and has been scientifically linked, to chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, asthma, and some cancers(17). Indeed, an astounding almost one out of every two adult Americans suffer from one or more chronic illness(30). It is estimated that health care costs for chronic disease treatment account for over 75% of national health expenditures, which is almost 1.7 trillion. Chronic diseases are the driver of high health care costs(1).

Luckily for Americans, there is a healthier alternative. A growing body of research and evidence shows that patients with non-communicable diseases (NCDs), primarily cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer, can reverse their condition or be cured completely by switching to a well-planned, plant-based diet16 (27).   Such illness can also be prevented by a healthful plant-based diet.  Colorful plants contain a vast assortment of protective compounds, especially when organically grown. Only by eating an assortment of nutrient-rich natural foods can Americans access these protective compounds that minimize the risk of developing those common diseases plaguing our nation (3).

Subsidies in the 2012 Farm Bill would encourage farmers to use organic farming methods to grow micronutrient dense foods like green/non-green vegetables, beans/legumes, fruits, starchy/non-starchy vegetables, whole grains, and raw nuts/seeds – crops largely neglected in the funding schemes of prior Farm Bills.

2. Environment: Experts often highlight six major threats as the most pressing and urgent of our time: climate change, water shortage, food scarcity, deforestation, ocean collapse, and biodiversity loss. Although each threat on its own is capable of causing devastating damage to our society, their occurrence together could threaten the very existence of life on our planet (18). It was identified that livestock industry is one of the leading causes of each of these threads. In 2006, the UN Food and Agriculture Industry stated that animal agriculture is “one of the most significant contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.” (4).

OPF, on the other hand, is sustainable, and benefits the environment in many ways, including the following:
a. 40% of atmospheric CO2 absorbed if the world’s tillable soil is organically farmed (5);
b. Contamination of soil and water from antibiotics, dangerous bacteria, and excessive nitrates in animal farm manure eliminated (19-22,29);
c. Pollution from chemical fertilizer and pesticides runoff eliminated (26);
d. Biodiversity and natural ecosystems restored (15,28);
e. Saves 80% of global climate change mitigation cost (6).

The 2012 Farm Bill has a critical impact on the welfare of our environment. It should therefore disincentive animal farming, a documented and scientifically proven hazard for the environment2, and instead promote the production of plant-based foods through organic farming methods.

3. Food and Water Security: Water is the most important natural resource for human survival. US food and global food security are under threat from growing water scarcity due to population growth, climate change, over-pumping of aquifers, and consuming more water-intensive diets, specifically those rich in meat and dairy products (24). meat and dairy centric diets use up to six times more water to grow protein and up to 20 times more water to grow calories (25) It is predicted that 36 states will have water shortage by 2013 (13). Several states, particularly those in the Southwest, such as California, New Mexico and Texas, are already struggling with shortages (14). Food supply is also being adversely impacted by population growth, increased meat and dairy consumption, growing water scarcity, climate change, degradation of top soil, and deforestation. The United Nations has warned that with the population on its way to 10 billion, food production levels must rise upwards of 70% (7).

Plant-based farming can support food and water security. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, various cropping systems developed by small farmers show higher yields in terms of total harvest per unit area. These yield advantages have been attributed from more efficient use of nutrients, water, light, and a combination of other factors such as the introduction of new regenerative elements into the farm (e.g. legumes) and fewer losses to pests and diseases (8). A University of Michigan study found that organic farming methods could increase yields by as much as three times the current amount (9). An article recently published in the Journal of Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems indicates that organic methods could produce enough food on a global per capita basis to sustain the current human population and more without putting more farmland into production (10). The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency also points out that if all tillable land were turned into organic plant farmland, all people on Earth would be fully fed (6). A study from the University of Wisconsin indicated that governmental policy should support programs that promote crop rotations and organic farming practices rather than a monoculture approach (11).

The 2012 Farm Bill should encourage usage of the nation’s limited natural resources to produce nutrient-rich foods to keep Americans healthy rather than subsidizing farmers that are only growing crops to feed livestock.

4. Economics: The nation is now facing an economic crisis, involving issues including a huge financial deficit, high unemployment, food security issues, water shortage, climate change, and rising health care costs, to name a few. With just one single change in our food policy, however, we can significantly reduce the costs of addressing each one. For example, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency even concluded that over 80% of climate change mitigation costs could be eliminated by a global adoption of a plant-based diet.

Furthermore, the high cost of capital investment in land and equipment makes entry into full-time farming extremely difficult for most individuals (12). Farm employment has declined from 12.5 million in 1930 to 1.2 million in the 1990s, even as the total U.S. population more than doubled. The 2012 Farm Bill is a turning point for the fate of the nation, not to mention its economy. By providing subsidies for farmers who transition to growing organic plant-based foods, the 2012 Farm Bill will not only change the lives of farmers by creating a vibrant OPF industry and a tremendous number of new jobs. Everyone on the planet will benefit, and the future of our nation and the world depend on it.

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Reference:
1. The High Concentration of U.S. Health Care Expenditures, http://www.ahrq.gov/research/ria19/expendria.htm.
2. Pollution from Giant Livestock Farms Threatens Public Health, Natural Resources Defense Council, http://www.nrdc.org/water/pollution/nspills.asp.
3. Dr. Fuhrman’s Nutritarian Pyramid, http://www.drfuhrman.com/library/foodpyramid.aspx.
4. UN Food and Agriculture Organization, “Livestock’s Long Shadow,” November 2009, http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.HTM.
5. LaSalle, T. J. and Hepperly, P. (2008). Regenerative Organic Farming: A Solution to Global Warming. Rodale Institute. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from Rodale Institute website http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/files/Rodale_Research_Paper-07_30_08.pdf.
6. Dr. Joop Oude Lohuis, Department Director, Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency,2009
7. Soaring global food prices spark fears of social unrest, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/soaring-global-food-prices-spark-fears-of-social-unrest/article1859417/.
8. Can organic farmers produce enough food for everybody? http://www.fao.org/organicag/oa-faq/oa-faq7/en/.
9. Organic Farming can feed the world, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070711134523.htm.
10. Organic Farming Can Feed the World, Research Finds, http://www.twnside.org.sg/title2/susagri/susagri011.htm
11. Can Organic Cropping Systems Be As Profitable As Conventional Systems? http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090406132600.htm.
12. Farming As Big Business, http://economics.about.com/od/americanagriculture/a/farm_business.htm.
13. Water Supply and Use in the United States, http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/pubs/supply.html.
14. A Thirsty nation, http://www.lowimpactliving.com/pages/your-impacts/water1.
15. Rethinking Global Biodiversity Strategies: Exploring structural changes in production and consumption to reduce biodiversity loss, http://www.pbl.nl/en/publications/2010/Rethinking_Global_Biodiversity_Strategies.
16. Eat to Live – The Amazing Nutrient-Rich Program for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss, by Joel Fuhrman, M.D, 2003
17. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, http://health.gov/DietaryGuidelines/
18. Addressed by Supreme Master Ching Hai in “Leaders Preserving Our Future: Pace & Priorities on Climate Change”, Conference in London, United Kingdom, November 3, 2010,
19. USDA Agricultural Research Service. ARS Manure and Byproduct Utilization National Program, 10 June 2004 (accessed August 14, 2006).
20. Nolan, Bernard T., et al. “Probability of Nitrate Contamination of Recently Recharged Ground Waters in the Coterminous United States,” in Environmental Science & Technology 36 (n. 10), pp. 2138-2145: 3.
21. Soto, Ana M., Janine M. Calabro, Nancy V. Prechtl, Alice Y. Yau, Edward F. Orlando, Andreas Daxenberger, Alan S. Kolok, Louis J. Guillette, Jr, Bruno le Bizec, Iris G.Lange, Caros Sonnenschein. “Androgenic and Estrogenic Activity in Water Bodies Receiving Cattle Feedlot Effluent in Eastern Nebraska, USA.” Environmental Health Perspectives. Vol. 112(3). p. 346-52. March 2004.
22. Chastain, John P. “Pollution Potential of Livestock Manure,” Minnesota/Wisconsin Engineering Notes, Winter 1995.
23. Campagnolo, Enzo R., Kammy R. Johnson, Adam Karpati, Carol S. Rubin, Dana W. Kolpin, Michael T. Meyer, J. Emilio Esteban, Russell W. Currier, Kathleen Smith, Kendall M. Thu, and Michael McGeehin. “Antimicrobial Residues in Animal Waste and Water Resources Proximal to Large-Scale Swine and Poultry Feeding Operations.” The Science of the Total Environment. Vol. 299(1-3). pp. 89-95. November 2002: 90.
24. Brown, Lester, “Could Food Shortages Bring Down Civilization?”, Scientific American, April 22, 2009 http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=civilization-food-shortages
25. Water Footprint Assessment Manual, http://www.waterfootprint.org/?page=files/WaterFootprintAssessmentManual
26. Potential Environmental Impacts of Animal Feeding Operations, U.S. EPA. 2009, http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/ag101/impacts.html.
27. China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell,
28. What options exist to manage ecosystems sustainably? In “Millennium Ecosystem Assessment General Synthesis Report:”Ecosystems and Human Well-being”,http://www.greenfacts.org/en/ecosystems/millennium-assessment-3/8-sustainable-management.htm
29. Sustainable Table, http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues./
30. Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, http://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/overview/index.htm
31. U.S. Health Care Costs, http://www.kaiseredu.org/Issue-Modules/US-Health-Care-Costs/Background-Brief.aspx.

32.    Agriculture and Health Policies in Conflict,  http://pcrm.org/health/reports/agriculture-and-health-policies-intro.
33.    How Farm Subsidies Harm Taxpayers, Consumers, and Farmers, Too,  http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2007/06/how-farm-subsidies-harm-taxpayers-consumers-and-farmers-too.