What a Biden Win Means For The Food System

It could be good news for farm workers and "climate smart agriculture."

Well before news outlets called the election for Biden, the former VP had his transition team in place. One little note that’s been mostly overlooked: the team includes Teresa Romero, President of the United Farm Workers. UFW reps tell me it’s the first time farm workers have had their interests represented on a presidential transition team.

Getting more attention this morning is Biden’s new Coronavirus Task Force and the promising results for the Pfizer vaccine, both of which will impact the food system. Farm and food processing workers have been especially hard-it by COVID, so increased testing and messaging on masks, hand-washing and social distancing could make a difference in communities where workers live. And an effective vaccine would also help, of course, assuming you can distribute it equitably.

Some farmers worry a Biden win will mean more regulation, reports the Wall Street Journal, but many are hopeful for better trade deals too. What else should you be keeping your eye on? “Climate smart agriculture,” which likely means giving farmers credits or subsidies for regenerative farming practices aimed at sequestering carbon in the ground as a way to offset emissions from farming.

There’s been a groundswell of new interest in regenerative farming as a climate fix thanks to a new doc called Kiss The Ground available on Netflix. The only problem? For now, there’s little evidence these practices permanently sequester carbon. See here for the explanation. Read this too. There are other environmental benefits to regenerative farming practices, however, so there may be a place for incentivizing these practices regardless of the carbon impact, assuming there’s more to the plan than just no-till and cover crops.

The other thing to keep an eye on is shifting ideological realignments in food system advocacy. In the past four years, we’ve seen cattle ranchers and dairy farmers align with opponents of GMOs in opposing “ultra-processed” plant-based burgers and “fake” milk and meat. The next big fight to watch for just might be Big Plant-Based Food and the Technivores v. the Ethical Vegans. Or maybe I just spend too much time on Twitter.

Get some rest, America. More to come.