Preserve SNAP benefits in 2023 farm bill
Lawmakers should refuse to make any cuts in SNAP, which is expected to be a major issue in drafting the new farm bill, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) said on Tuesday. Congress expanded the work requirement for able-bodied adults enrolled in SNAP as part of debt limit legislation in June, and some House Republicans advocate using the farm bill as a way to place additional restrictions on food stamps.
EPA panel to study factory farm runoff
Rather than launch its rulemaking process, the EPA said on Tuesday it would appoint a panel to study, over the next year or so, the best ways to reduce polluted runoff from factory farms. Environmental group Food and Water Watch (FWW) said the “deeply flawed response amounts to yet more delay” in development of stricter water-pollution standards for large livestock and poultry farms.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Montana ruling’s limited reach: Because only a few states have constitutional guarantees of environmental protection, the state’s historic ruling — which held that Montana wrongly failed to consider climate-change impacts when reviewing requests for permits for projects — could be blunted, said lawyers. (Axios)
Challenge China in Africa: The United States ought to “bring American innovation to African farmers, helping them to improve the volume and quality of their output” as an alternative to “China’s land grab and usurious loans,” said Indiana farmer Kip Tom in an essay advocating for pragmatic foreign policy. (The National Interest)
California trees are dying: Joshua trees caught in Mojave Desert wildfires are the latest victims among millions of California trees, “from towering sequoias to ancient bristlecone pines,” that are dying from disease, drought, and heat brought by climate change. (Los Angeles Times)
Override Prop 12: The attorneys general of 16 states, disappointed that the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 12 animal welfare law, asked the leaders of the House and Senate to support legislation to override it. (Iowa Attorney General)
High Argentine meat prices: Argentina government officials were in talks with the meat industry to cap meat prices, a sensitive point in a nation of meat eaters, amid inflation running at 116 percent. (Reuters)
