one green planet
one green planet

As the Iowa caucuses draw near, a network of local and national groups are working together to bring factory farming to the forefront of the 2020 Presidential race. The groups are Food & Water Action (FWA), Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Action (CCI Action), and Iowa Alliance for Responsible Agriculture (IARA).

Their goal is to push lawmakers to end new factory farm buildings to prevent environmental degradation and animal cruelty. They are also trying to end the expansion of factory farms. A spokesperson for the Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Action Fund, Adam Mason, spoke out saying, ” It’s time to take a zero-tolerance approach when it comes to factory farming. The Farm System Reform Act outlines a solution that covers all of our bases to protect Americans from corporate agriculture once and for all.”

Factory farms are built in Iowa at the rate of 300-600 annually. Former Presidential Candidate and current US Senator Cory Booker made farming and agriculture a central policy. Speaking about the issue, he said, “Large factory farms are harmful to rural communities, public health, and the environment and we must immediately begin to transition to a more sustainable and humane system.” Booker introduced legislation that the group supports.

Chris Petersen, an IARA member and member of the Board of Directors of the Iowa Farmer’s Union, described the impacts of factory farming, “As a rural resident and an independent farmer I see the devastating impacts of a runaway building boom of factory farms not only on independent family farms (94% of independent pig farmers are gone), but also on the environment. We’re talking about water quality, human health, rural neighborhoods, and even rural social structure.”

Read more about politics and the environment, including Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement, COP25 and how young republicans are pushing for climate action and our coverage on why Climate change is a top priority for young voters, the Green New Deal, and have a quick look at the 2020 democratic presidential candidates’ current plans on climate change and watch them discuss their views in Weather Channel’s Race to Save The Planet Forum.

Sign this petition to stop “ag-gag” laws that make it possible to hide animal suffering at factory farms:

Read more about factory farms and their destruction in One Green Planet:

You can avoid contributing to such cruelty and environmental degradation by reducing your dairy and meat consumption. Eating more plant-based foods is known to help with chronic inflammation, heart health, mental wellbeing, fitness goals, nutritional needs, allergies, gut health and more! Dairy consumption also has been linked to many health problems, including acne, hormonal imbalance, cancer, prostate cancer and has many side effects. Interested in joining the dairy-free and meatless train? We highly recommend downloading the Food Monster App — with over 15,000 delicious recipes it is the largest plant-based recipe resource to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy! And, while you are at it, we encourage you to also learn about the environmental and health benefits of a plant-based diet.

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