Bernie Sanders rolls out "Roosevelt style trust-busting" agriculture plan

[Donkees]

2020 Democrat Bernie Sanders unveiled a multi-faceted, comprehensive plan to help revitalize rural farming communities and break up big agriculture corporations like Bayer-Monsanto and John Deere by enacting "Roosevelt style trust-busting laws."

Agriculture today is not working for the majority of Americans. It is not working economically for farmers, it is not working for rural communities, and it is not working for the environment. But it is working for big agribusiness corporations that are extracting our rural resources for profit.

For far too long, government farm policies have incentivized a “get big or get out” approach to agriculture. This approach has consolidated the entire food system, reducing farm net income, and driving farmers off the land in droves. As farms disappear, so do the businesses, jobs, and communities they support.

Why it matters: America's farmers are living through the worst economic crisis in almost 30 years, driven by low commodity prices, trade war pressures and record flooding. The Agriculture Department has disbursed $7.7 billion in aid to farmers in an effort to reduce the negative effects of retaliatory tariffs stemming from President Trump's trade war.

Highlights:

Corporation busts: Sanders wants to pause all future mergers and vertical integration of large agribusiness corporations and break-up "existing massive agribusinesses." Like fellow 2020 Democrat Elizabeth Warren, Sanders wants a right-to-repair law that allows farmers to choose how to repair their farming equipment instead of being forced to go through authorized agents like John Deere.

Climate change: The plan aims to incentivize farmers to help sequester greenhouse gas emissions from farming and enforce the Clean Air and Water Acts for large, factory farms. "The current administration lacks the will to enforce [federal laws], particularly on mega-farms. Regulations should be scale-appropriate, and focus attention on the operations with largest impact," the proposal says.

Revitalize rural communities: The proposal emphasizes the need for education and job training, while also tying in paid child care, quality health care through his Medicare for All plan, and reformed immigration labor laws.
Go deeper:

Read Sanders' full proposal ...

https://www.axios.com/bernie-sanders-2020-agriculture-plan-57ff6053-2a9f-4604-ad27-8526c5847370.html



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