Senate Farm Bill Draft Doubles Down on Industrial Ag, Sidelining Healthy Food, Small Farmers, Hungry Families 

Republican E15 proposal expands support for pesticide-intensive corn and ethanol while failing to restore nutrition assistance or invest in local food systems. 

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans have released their updated Farm Bill proposal, doubling down on a food and farm system that prioritizes industrial commodity agriculture over healthy food, small and mid-sized farmers, and struggling families. Rather than investing in local and regional food systems, organic and regenerative agriculture, conservation, specialty crop producers, and nutrition programs that improve food security, the bill expands support for pesticide-intensive corn production through year-round E15 sales while leaving intact the sweeping SNAP cuts enacted in the One Big Beautiful Bill. 

 “The Farm Bill should help farmers grow more healthy food, strengthen local and regional food economies, and make nutritious food more affordable,” said Kari Hamerschlag, Deputy Director, Food and Agriculture at Friends of the Earth U.S. “Instead, this legislation pours more taxpayer dollars into an industrial system dominated by pesticide-intensive commodity crops that primarily feed factory farms, fuel our cars, and supply ingredients for ultra-processed foods.” 

The bill’s E15 provision is expected to increase demand for corn ethanol, reinforcing a system of monoculture corn production that relies heavily on fertilizers and synthetic pesticides, linked to growing cancer rates in Iowa. Corn is one of the nation’s most pesticide-intensive crops, and expanding ethanol production will drive additional chemical use while contributing to water pollution, biodiversity loss, greenhouse gas emissions, and declining soil health. 

“Congress should be helping farmers diversify their operations and meet growing consumer demand for healthier, organic foods — not encouraging even greater dependence on monoculture corn,” Hamerschlag said. “This provision locks farmers into a system that benefits pesticide manufacturers, ethanol companies, and the largest commodity producers while making it harder for independent farmers growing fruits, vegetables, legumes, and organic crops to compete.” 

The legislation also slashes funding for already oversubscribed conservation programs and fails to invest in the foods Americans are being encouraged to eat more of. Despite overwhelming evidence that increased consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and minimally processed foods improves public health, the bill continues to devote the vast majority of federal agricultural support to commodity crops, with comparatively little investment in specialty crops, regional food infrastructure, organic agriculture, or local food procurement.

While the bill delays implementation of certain new SNAP requirements, it does nothing to reverse the deep cuts enacted in the One Big Beautiful Bill, which have already left approximately 4 million Americans without food assistance. At a time when families continue to struggle with food prices, Congress should be strengthening — not weakening — the nation’s most important anti-hunger program. 

“If Congress is serious about improving public health, strengthening rural economies, and supporting farmers, we need a very different farm bill that invests in diversified farming systems, local food businesses, conservation, and healthy food,” Hamerschlag said. “Friends of the Earth urges Senators to vote no on this terrible Farm Bill.” 

Media contact: Lindsay Tice, [email protected]