— Written by Lyle Jarvis

Our food system has a lot to chew on 🐄

Farming accounts for around 20% of our emissions, making it the second biggest polluter behind fossil fuels (booooo). Coupled with the fact that nearly a third of the food we produce doesn’t even get eaten, the problem grows out of control – fast.

The good news is, we have solutions. The even better news? It’s not just telling you to stop eating meat, at least until fake bacon doesn’t taste like cardboard. Or until a salad costs the same or less than a burger (the goal is for cellular agriculture, like plant-based meat alternatives to eventually be the same price as conventional meat).

The solution to all of this is out there. Ready to learn how to fix our entire food system? Or how we can sustainably feed ourselves for generations to come? One solution might change everything. Tune in to Episode 4 of Unf*cking the Planet to see for yourself! (Also, Kip thinks this is the funniest episode yet!)

“Put it on my Tab,” said Farm Bill 🌽

Speaking of farming, the Farm Bill is back on the agenda for Congress – which is big news. The Farm Bill is a package of legislation passed (roughly) every five years, building the legal framework for how we feed ourselves.

In other words, it controls how food is grown and provides support to the farmers growing it. Those laws ripple out to basically every American who eats, through things like food prices, school lunches, anything we wear or use that grows in the ground.

The last Farm Bill passed in 2018, boasting improvements to things like crop insurance, farm income support, and disaster programs. After some serious kicking of cans down roads (it’s about two years behind schedule), the bill is finally back in front of Congress this year, woohoo!

Farm Bills typically see relatively minor changes between iterations, focusing on fine-tuning existing programs instead of major policy overhauls. But knowing now what we know about our food system’s relationship to climate change, what happens with the Farm Bill has the potential for really high stakes – the future of the climate fight may very well be hanging in the balance.

The Farm Bill also deals with subsidies. In the U.S., the government subsidizes crops like corn, soy, wheat, cotton and rice. The problem is, instead of going toward things we actually eat, most of those subsidies are for large-scale, factory farms – meaning they’re used for highly processed food or (overwhelmingly) to feed factory cows.

Subsidies are at the heart of how we eat, and how we can improve our food system to become more sustainable. Many of those improvements start with the Farm Bill, which is why it’s important to keep an eye on.

Check out this food policy tracker by Civil Eats to keep informed on the Farm Bill, and other important policy updates!

So, What About the USDA? 🚜

Elon Musk’s “government efficiency” efforts have been eating up the headlines lately, taking a chainsaw to important government agencies like the National Parks Service and USAID. But one of the few major government agencies has remained relatively unscathed, one that’s ripe for reform – the USDA.

Although 1% of Americans actually farm, the USDA employs roughly five times as many people as the EPA, the agency entrusted with protecting 100% of Americans (who actually breathe). The agency spends around $20 billion of taxpayer dollars per year on farm subsidies, but Americans only actually eat around 37% of all major crops produced. In reality, the vast majority of these funds are instead feeding the pockets of major ag corporations and insurance companies.

USDA reform has been making headlines long before Elon Musk took the floor. Last year, the Government Accountability Office (the waste watchdog we used before DOGE) published an account of unfair payments, proving funds were overwhelmingly given to support commodity crops, not healthy fruits and veggies for us to eat.

The bottom line is, our food system needs fixing – and fast. We’re hopeful that the upcoming farm bill will breathe new reform into our existing ag laws, and help build a more livable planet along the way!

🌟 Community Recs 🗣️

Local to Los Angeles? Join us to kick off Earth Month & LA Climate week with a special Climate Film "Bash" in collaboration with The Hollywood Climate Summit! They’ll be showcasing several incredible films like:

Gimme My Medicine 
Planetwalker
They're Trying to Kill Us

They’ll be kicking things off with a welcoming and hilarious comedic bit by Esteban Gast, and Bonnie Wright will moderate an insightful Q&A panel with the filmmakers afterwards. Get ready for an evening that will shift perspectives, challenge misconceptions, and build community!

📅 April 4th, 6pm-10pm
📍 Writers Guild Theater: 135 S Doheny Dr. Beverly Hills, CA
🎟️ RESERVE YOUR SPOT HERE!

👀 Some Stories You Might Have Missed This Week 🗞️📺

1. According to a new Carbon Brief analysis, the U.K.'s emissions fell by 3.6% last year, reaching their lowest levels since in centuries! (Carbon Brief).

2. 21 House Republicans are urging their party to keep clean energy tax breaks from the Inflation Reduction Act (Politico).

3. Ahead of COP30, Brazil is developing a $125b plan to protect tropical forests (Bloomberg).

There’s an Ep for That! 🌎 💥 ▶️