Welcome back to The Aggregate Aggregation, our weekly roundup of news and publications that caught our eyes over the last week or so. You can read Volume 13 here.
Let’s make it a conversation! Let’s start the discussion in the comments.
Digging Deep: The Debate Rages On
Y’all know we at The Aggregate love a good conversation (and debate), and this week we were treated to the article Why won't the "feed the world" myth ever die?, a response to Do We Need Another Green Revolution? published in The New Yorker in June. The articles argue differing perspectives on the promise of sustainable agriculture, the connections between yields and hunger, and the value of agricultural intensification.
While diametrically opposed at their cores, both arguments circle the need for significant increases in investment in research and development, especially public research that benefits everyone. These conversations come at a salient moment, as climate change wreaks havoc on farmland (the Associated Press reported this week “Texas floodwaters damaged crops and endangered livestock. Now farmers and ranchers are cleaning up.”) and significant policy changes in Washington, D.C., alter farmers’ relationships with government.
The recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBBA) does promise to increase investment in R&D as a mechanism for driving agricultural innovation, but where those funds are awarded (to public universities or private companies) and what kinds of research it funds matters. The New Yorker piece heavily references the life-saving impact of the first Green Revolution, an impact that was only possible by investment in international development research - the type of research that has been severely cut by the new executive administration. This new administration also seems hesitant to invest in basic research, the types of research the results and benefits of which are yet unknown… but could lead to the most significant results, like GLP-1 drugs or penicillin. Our country struggles to drive innovation, importing technologies like GPS livestock fencing, agrivoltaics, solar panels, and batteries from other countries, and the USDA reports that US investment in public ag research severely lags trade competitors.
While the OBBBA promises these investments, it’s currently unclear how much it will close the gap to our competitors; it’s unclear what kinds of researchers will receive these public funds (for public or private benefit); and it’s unclear how much these investments will benefit American eaters versus the largest American monocrop farmers. The OBBBA follows a period of significant cuts by this administration to local and regional food programs, so there is still much to be determined.
What are your thoughts about the OBBBA and its impacts on the American food system? Please leave us a comment!
Surface Level
🇺🇸Reactions to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
Farm Groups Largely Praise One Big Beautiful Bill Passage (Morning Ag Clips). “While the bill faced much scrutiny leading up to its final passage, farm groups largely praised the potential positive impacts elements of the bill could have on American agriculture.”
Comment: NSAC Laments Senate’s Passage of Budget Reconciliation (NSAC). “NSAC is deeply disappointed that the Senate has voted to approve a reconciliation bill that ignores the needs of the vast majority of American farmers and the communities they call home while providing billions for programs that only benefit a select few, all at the expense of programs that support nutrition access for hungry people.”
USDA Secretary Praises President’s One Big Beautiful Bill (Morning Ag Clips). “While expanding programs to support the farmers who feed, fuel and clothe America, this legislation also tackles the fraud and waste that has run rampant in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The bill holds states accountable for their error rates, strengthens work requirements and prevents illegal aliens from receiving SNAP.”
Op-ed: The Big Beautiful Bill Won’t Make America Healthy Again (Civil Eats). “The bill includes the most significant cuts ever enacted to federal benefit programs such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Millions of Americans will be hungrier and sicker as a result of the OBBBA. It’s also an absolute contradiction to the claims and narrative of the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) platform, and a betrayal to the voters who feel an affinity to MAHA due to its stated focus on fighting chronic disease.”
Farmers: Don’t Miss What’s in the Big Beautiful Bill (Morning Ag Clips). “Below is a detailed but accessible breakdown of what farmers need to know, what’s changing, what’s staying the same, and what you should think about as you plan for the coming years.”
What’s Really Inside the Final Budget Reconciliation Bill: A Breakdown of Food and Agriculture Provisions (NSAC). “The bill slashes SNAP benefits by nearly $186 billion – taking food off the plates of hungry children, seniors, and veterans – and directly reinvests more than $50 billion of that to further increase farm subsidies to the largest, wealthiest farmers, while programs that support the vast majority of farmers and rural communities are excluded from the bill entirely.”
Democrats Can Finally Stop Pandering to Farmers (Op-Ed, The New York Times). “The G.O.P.’s decision to sever the half-century-old pairing of farm handouts with food assistance offers Democratic politicians an opportunity to stop supporting environmentally and fiscally ludicrous subsidies for farmers who wouldn’t dream of voting for Democrats.”
🏛️More federal policy changes
House Bill Would Halt Assessment of PFAS Risk on Farms (Civil Eats). ““Preventing EPA from protecting public health and our food supply from toxic contamination epitomizes special interest politics at their worst,” said Kyla Bennet, the Science Policy Director for Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, in a press release. “If finalized, this ban will leave ill-equipped state agricultural agencies to deal with a rapidly spreading chemical disaster.””
USDA Cancels More Support for Regional Food Systems (Civil Eats). “The small Regional Food Business Centers program was one of a suite of initiatives created by the Biden administration that were focused on rebuilding regional supply chains. The repaired infrastructure was intended to serve small family farms and push back on the increasing consolidation in the food system that has hollowed out rural communities.”
Secretary Rollins Terminates COVID-era Program (Morning Ag Clips). “U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins today announced the termination of the Regional Food Business Centers (RFBC) program.”
Learn more about the USDA’s Regional Food Business Centers.
👀Everything else that caught our eyes
Our Summer 2025 Food and Farming Book Guide (Civil Eats). “These 23 new or forthcoming titles run the gamut, from big-picture examinations of food-system issues and food philosophies to histories, memoirs, and cookbooks.”
Natural Resources Conservation Service Lays Out ‘Farmer First’ Vision (AgWeb from Farm Journal). “Outlining four efforts, Bettencourt and NRCS Associate Chief Louis Aspey laid out their “farmer first” approach at the 2025 Trust in Food Symposium in Washington, D.C.”
US Importers Sued for ‘Greenwashing’ Mexican Avocados (Civil Eats). “Most avocados sold in the U.S. come from Mexico, where farming methods have serious environmental and human-rights impacts. Yet importers continue to market the fruit as sustainably grown.”
A bit old but still interesting:
Emergency reserves, high prices, rationing. How did Japan’s rice crisis get this far? (AP).
Agrivoltaics Enjoys High Acceptance Abroad (Morning Ag Clips).
Notice of Termination of Seven Discretionary Federal Advisory Committees (Federal Register).
How Inflation is Reshaping Farm Finance Strategy (Morning Ag Clips).
Gaza’s Agriculture Continues to Deteriorate at Alarming Rate (Morning Ag Clips).
A Little Bit of Farm, a Little Bit of Suburbia: That’s the Recipe for Agritopia (Morning Ag Clips).
What did we miss? Drop a link to your favorite story of the week (or month, or year) in the comments. Tell us why it resonated with you!
What we’re reading
A list of sources the editors at The Aggregate check regularly for our agroecology+ news.