The Trump Presidency
Agriculture and Climate

Another Trump agriculture and climate policy disaster ... Tell EPA's Scott Pruitt: We want farms for food, not fuel.

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Another Trump agriculture and climate policy disaster ... Tell EPA's Scott Pruitt: We want farms for food, not fuel. Peter, Last week I wrote to you to ask your Senator to reject the confirmation of Sam Clovis, Trump’s climate-denying nominee, as the USDA’s chief scientist. This week, I am asking you to tell Scott Pruitt, Trump’s climate-denying EPA administrator, to stop promoting food-based biofuels and protect the environment. Every year, the EPA sets the amount of biofuels that are required to be burned in our gas tanks as “renewable energy”. Last month the EPA proposed that billions of gallons of food-based biofuels, like corn ethanol and soy and palm biodiesel, be added to our gas tanks in 2018. This means that millions of acres of land that could be used to produce food or be set aside for conservation would instead be used for fuel. Take Action Now to Tell Pruitt We Want Farms for Food Not Fuel. Producing biofuels is not good for the environment, and it’s harming local farming communities, both in the U.S. and in developing countries. In the Midwest, rivers and streams are being heavily polluted by fertilizer runoff, due to policies like the Renewable Fuel Standard that promote agribusiness and encourage planting corn and soy “from fencerow to fencerow”. The U.S. also imports biofuels – especially soy and palm biodiesel – and local farmers living near soy and palm plantations are suffering the impacts of dirty, industrial agriculture: contaminated water, poor soil quality, and deforestation. Tell the EPA that Biofuels Produced from Industrial Agriculture Are Not a Solution to Climate Change. Jose Caal, a farmer in Guatemala, told us that his community has seen a huge growth in palm oil plantations – and the damage that comes with them. “We had forests, we had sufficient clean water. We could bathe in any of the rivers,” Jose said. “Now, the water sources have dried up [and] the soil is damaged because [of] the use of chemicals by the palm oil plantation.” Often times these companies offer the farmers jobs to persuade them to sell their land. But these jobs generally don’t pay well or last long. “They’ve fired many of our neighbors,” Jose said. “They prefer to bring in workers from other places outside of our community, and our neighbors and children remain unemployed.” Biofuels are promoted as being good for farmers and the planet. But they’re actually hurting local farmers like Jose and they certainly aren’t helping the planet. Tell the EPA the Best Way to Protect our Environment is Through Sustainable Agriculture, not Industrial Biofuels. Enough is enough. Let’s keep dirty, harmful biofuels out of our cars. Thanks for your support! Tristan Tristan Quinn-Thibodeau Biofuels, Land Rights, and Food Security Campaigner ActionAid USA