Sen. Cory Booker: Food is one area where the climate can often seem very abstract, but food is a place where people will be very fortunate. "I was stunned to realize how savagely broken it is," Booker says of America's food system. The only people it really works for are these big multinational corporations that more and more controlling everything we eat, he adds.
Our food and agricultural systems are helping fuel the climate emergency. But climate isn’t the only harm; these systems also impact local economies, human dignity, and animal welfare. The upcoming Farm Bill presents an opportunity to infuse more climate-smart practices in American agriculture, which accounts for about 10% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. But doing so involves confronting industrial practices that focus on short-term gains and commodity subsidies that have deep support in both parties.
Senator Cory Booker has a plan to address our broken food system. He introduced legislation that would challenge large industrial beef and pork packagers and tilt the balance of power in our industrial agriculture system, giving family farmers, ranchers, and workers a better deal. But what chance do these elements have of passage? And what other options are there for decreasing the concentration of power in Big Ag?
Guest:
Cory Booker United States Senator, New Jersey
Contributor:
Elizabeth Rembert
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