Food and Agriculture

We need to fix our broken food system—and science can help us do it. UCS food experts highlight solutions to ensure that every American has access to healthy, green, fair, affordable food.


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USDA

With Trump Executive Order, Are Meat and Poultry Plants a COVID-19 Ticking Time Bomb?

, Economist

May 20, 2020 3:47 PM EDT

On April 28, President Trump issued an executive order intended to direct slaughterhouses and meat and poultry processing plants to remain open as critical infrastructure. The order noted that these facilities should follow CDC guidelines to protect workers from COVID-19. However, the guidelines in the order were described as voluntary, and no enforcement mechanism yet exists to ensure that these measures are being taken. Conditions right now are so bad that the AFL-CIO, which represents the nation’s largest labor unions, announced Monday that it is suing the US Occupational Health and Safety Administration for not protecting American workers from COVID-19. We wanted to know how much worse this situation might get. Read more >

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Anrita1705/Pixabay

Kids, Families, and Food Workers Need a “HEROES Act.” Will Congress Deliver?

, Food Systems & Health Analyst

May 13, 2020 2:27 PM EDT

Yesterday, House Democrats released the text of a new stimulus package: a blueprint for what could become the fourth major COVID-19 response bill passed by Congress. What did the bill get right, and when can we expect it to move? Read more >

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Photo courtesy Jim Horn/Flickr

As COVID-19 Reveals Our Food System’s Flaws, Congress Can Boost Protection Now—and Resilience for the Future

, senior analyst, Food and Environment

April 22, 2020 5:57 PM EDT

If we didn’t know it before—or had forgotten—the escalating pandemic and its widening economic ripple effects are hammering home the reality that our world is full of risk and uncertainty. Preparedness is paramount. Resilience is essential. And apart from the nation’s healthcare system, nowhere is this more apparent right now than when it comes to keeping ourselves fed, as food producers, workers, and consumers alike face mounting threats to their health and well-being.

Because the system wasn’t designed to protect them.

Read more >

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Pandemic Exposes Plight of Food Workers Who Have Long Fought for Justice

, Food Systems & Health Analyst

March 27, 2020 5:39 PM EDT

The rapid spread of COVID-19, with confirmed US cases now nearing 100,000, is forcing the federal government to confront some stark realities. Notably, the pandemic has pulled back the curtain on the US food system and the millions of workers behind it—and in the process, has underscored the need for the basic rights many farm and food workers have been fighting for all along. Read more >

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Photo courtesy duncan c/Flickr

Three Ways the Coronavirus Crisis Is Also a Food Crisis

, senior analyst, Food and Environment

March 27, 2020 4:44 PM EDT

As the coronavirus crisis keeps most Americans at home, many of us have pantries comfortably stocked with food and can have groceries delivered to our doorsteps in a matter of hours. But millions of our neighbors have trouble putting food on the table in the best of times, and they’re now joined by many more people abruptly facing job loss and hunger. Meanwhile, many of the people who produce and safeguard our food supply are confronted with increased health risk and economic catastrophe. Read more >

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