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Bernie Sanders signs on to sponsor urgent agricultural legislation to ban factory farming by 2040
Former Democratic presidential nominee Bernie Sanders has joined fellow Senators Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren in the fight to ban factory farms by co-sponsoring the Farm System Reform Act.
The Farm System Reform Act (S. 3221/H.R. 6718), introduced by Senator Cory Booker in the Senate and by Representative Ro Khanna in the House, would overhaul the cruel and environmentally destructive animal agriculture industry to protect public health from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), also known as factory farms, where 99% of the meat eaten in the US is produced and where deadly pathogens form. If passed, the Farm System Reform Act would place an immediate moratorium on new CAFOs, while the largest, existing CAFOs would be phased out by 2040
Michael Webermann, US Executive Director of ProVeg International: “Factory farming is not only an urgent environmental, justice, and ethical issue but also an issue of public health.
“Megafarms have taken over the agriculture sector, leaving fewer choices for consumers and creating a breeding ground for future pathogens because animals are cramped tightly together in severe, unsanitary conditions. We’ve long known that factory farms pollute the air, contaminate water, and destroy biodiversity. But now that we are living the consequences of a global pandemic, we can no longer stand idly by without change.
“This bill really could be the first step in major, much-needed agricultural reform. With Sanders joining, we now have three of the most notable senators sponsoring the Farm System Reform Act. Hopefully, Senator Sanders’ decision to sponsor the bill leads other legislators to follow suit and support this critical bill.”
ProVeg International, a global food awareness organization, is pushing the grassroots effort for public support on the bill and has recently launched an online campaign urging people to take action and write to their representatives asking them to sponsor the Farm System Reform Act.
“Phasing out big factory farms is not a partisan issue. This bill has the potential to make real change and we’re asking for citizens everywhere to lead this progress by contacting your representatives today at banfactoryfarms.com. Let them know that factory farms harm people, animals, and the planet — and put us at risk of future, possibly more dangerous, pandemics.”
The Food and Pandemics report, published last month by ProVeg International, reported that intensive animal farming is the “single most risky human behavior” for new pandemics and calls for urgent changes, like the Farm System Reform Act, to the global food system in order to prevent future outbreaks.
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About ProVeg International
ProVeg International is a global food awareness organization working to transform the global food system by replacing conventional animal-based products with plant-based and cultivated alternatives.
ProVeg works with international decision-making bodies, governments, food producers, investors, the media, and the general public to help the world transition to a society and economy that are less dependent on animal agriculture and more sustainable for humans, animals, and the planet.
ProVeg has permanent observer status with UNFCCC, is accredited for UNEA, and has received the United Nations’ Momentum for Change Award.
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For more information, please contact:
Winona Cruzan
US Communications Manager, ProVeg International
(202) 301-9547
