We The Future | Chapter 10: Food Sovereignty for All - Regenerative Agriculture and a Just Rural Economy
Rebuilding Our Social Contract: Department of Agriculture (USDA)
The Threat: What Project 2025 Wants, and What’s Already Happening
When Project 2025 looks at American agriculture, they don’t see food, land, or people, they see profit. Specifically: profit for Big Ag, chemical companies, and monocrop monopolies.
Here’s their plan:
Roll back environmental and climate protections in agriculture
Prioritize industrial-scale, chemical-heavy farming over ecological resilience
Slash SNAP (food stamps), stigmatize recipients, and shrink access to food aid
Dismantle racial equity programs for Black, Indigenous, and small-scale farmers
This isn’t about feeding people, it’s about feeding corporate greed.
What’s Already Happening
USDA climate and equity initiatives are already under attack. The Equity Commission's work is being undermined, while Black and Indigenous land access programs face defunding threats. At the same time, SNAP recipients are being demonized and losing benefits, and right-wing lawmakers continue trying to impose stricter work requirements (or eliminate benefits entirely).
Meanwhile, massive industrial farms still receive billions in subsidies, even as they degrade soil, pollute waterways, and crush local economies.
The Counter-Vision: Food Sovereignty for All - Regenerative Agriculture and a Just Rural Economy
Goal:
Transform U.S. agricultural policy to support small farmers, food workers, environmental regeneration, and universal access to nutritious food. Make the USDA a national driver of climate action, racial justice, and rural revitalization.
Core Pillars:
Transition to Regenerative Agriculture
Subsidize soil health, biodiversity, agroforestry, and organic practices. Reallocate funding from Big Ag to community-based farms. Launch a Green Farm New Deal to support climate-resilient rural economies.Center Racial Equity and Land Justice
Fully fund the USDA Equity Commission. Pass the Justice for Black Farmers Act. Expand land access and ownership programs for Indigenous communities, Black farmers, and cooperative farm models.Universal Food Security
Expand and simplify SNAP enrollment (through tax filings, Medicaid, and more). Remove punitive work requirements. Guarantee universal free school meals, invest in urban agriculture, and scale up community food hubs.Fair Pay and Protections for Food Workers
Extend OSHA protections and labor rights to farmworkers and food chain employees. Invest in rural labor organizing and immigration protections for migrant food workers who keep this country fed.
Technically Sound
Backed by research from USDA’s climate divisions, Indigenous agriculture experts, and grassroots coalitions like the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. Many ideas build on successful pilot programs already in motion.
Politically Supportable
SNAP and school meals poll well across party lines. Anti-monopoly reforms, fair food pricing, and rural investment resonate with both red and blue voters, especially post-pandemic.
Organizationally Implementable
Many reforms can be enacted through USDA rulemaking and Farm Bill appropriations. Equity and food assistance programs can pass through reconciliation or bipartisan rural-urban coalitions.
Recommended Collaborator
Leah Penniman – Co-Executive Director of Soul Fire Farm and author of Farming While Black. A national leader in food justice, regenerative agriculture, and Black land reclamation, Penniman blends deep grassroots experience with bold, transformative policy vision.
💪 What We Can Do Right Now
Push for a climate-smart, equity-driven Farm Bill.
Support food justice orgs like Soul Fire Farm, National Black Food & Justice Alliance, and Food Chain Workers Alliance.
Demand fair food systems that nourish people and planet—not just profits.
Back full SNAP expansion and universal school meals in your state and federally. It’s food, not a luxury.
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