News: Food Policy
Three of the largest infant formula companies -- U.S.-based Abbott Laboratories, Swiss-based Nestle, and U.K.-based Reckitt Benckiser -- have spent $60.7 million lobbying U.S. lawmakers and officials during the last decade.
Preventing SNAP recipients from buying soda and junk food would dramatically improve public health—but lobbyists for Big Sugar have the financial clout to fight the idea.
Many of the nation’s farmers are faced with tractors that can only be fixed by a manufacturer -- a situation that benefits manufacturers but puts added burdens on farmers. A MapLight analysis of state lobbying reports found proponents of "right to repair" legislation designed to address the issue have been outspent by a 28-to-1 margin.
The House of Representatives voted to eliminate a permit requirement for pesticides last week, as sponsors of the measure received 12 times more in campaign contributions from the agricultural chemical industry than the bill’s opponents.
The soda industry’s deep pockets are a well-known hurdle to taxing sugar-sweetened beverages, but a new MapLight analysis suggests the industry may be directing significant amounts of money to an unexpected faction of the California Legislature: its all-Democratic Latino Caucus.
March 24, 2017 – Obama-era rules that make it easier for chicken farmers to sue large processing companies over unfair business practices already has feathers flying in court, but the Trump administration’s review of regulations could close the window for future legal actions. Three U.S. Department of Agriculture rules announced in December were created to … Continue reading "Farmers and Meat Processors Clash Over Frozen Federal Regulation"
An exclusive MapLight review of Agriculture Secretary nominee Sonny Perdue’s emails raise questions as he heads into a confirmation hearing.
President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue III, has received almost $1 million over the last two decades from the industry that he’ll be required to regulate, a MapLight analysis of data from the National Institute of Money in State Politics shows.