Michigan farmers, food assistance, and environmental groups are urging the U.S. Senate to reject the Farm Bill passed by the U.S. House.
Speaking at a virtual news conference hosted by Progress Michigan, the groups said the legislation favors large agricultural corporations over working families and independent farmers, preserving SNAP cuts, weakening conservation efforts and failing to address rising costs for Michigan's small and midsize farms.
Bob Thompson, president of the Michigan Farmers Union, opposes the measure in its current form.
"We believe that while it's important to advance a Farm Bill, that a bad one is worse than not having one," Thompson asserted.
Those in favor of the legislation contended it modernizes farm programs, strengthens crop insurance protections and provides more long-term certainty for agricultural producers navigating inflation and market instability.
Opponents of the bill warned the legislation could make it harder for struggling families by putting limits on future Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. Statistics show 13% to 15% of Michigan households rely on SNAP.
Dana Mohammad, statewide coalitions director for the group Detroit Action, said families in Michigan and across the country are already feeling the effects of billions of dollars in food assistance cuts.
"We want to be clear that SNAP and WIC are not solutions to poverty. They are literal lifelines," Mohammad emphasized. "Weakening them will force families into impossible choices between food, rent, medicine and care for their loved ones."
Environmental and food sovereignty advocates said the legislation falls short on long-term sustainability and support for regenerative agriculture practices.
Nichole Biber, campaign organizer for Clean Water Action, said programs are being cut back at a bad time.
"Those things are not only not expanded but they've been decreased at a time when we are in an insecure place in terms of climate impacts, drought, all of these unknowns," Biber stressed.
Backers of the legislation maintained the Farm Bill still invests in conservation programs while balancing the need to keep food production strong and farms financially stable.
