by Marion Nestle
May
23
2024
Farm Bill lobbying
Since we are talking this week about the Farm Bill, take a look at this report from the Union of Concerned Scientists: Cultivating Control: Corporate Lobbying on the Food and Farm Bill.
Its major findings:
- Interest groups spent more than $523 million on Farm Bill issues between 2019 and 2023.
- Agribusiness spends more on lobbying than the gas or oil industries.
- 561 groups reported lobbying on Farm Bill issues.
- Agribusiness players donated $3.4 million to election campaigns, mainly to members of the House and Senate Ag committees.
The AARP (at $15 million) and Feeding America (6 million) are the main lobbyists for public health issues, but their expenditures pale in comparison to that of the top contributors.
Lobbyists must disclose spending and on what, but not their positions. These, you have to guess, but that’s not hard to do.
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