Chapter 10. Department of Agriculture

Key Points

• Via Executive Order, reverse Biden administration regulations for food and animal safety, including safety rules for large-scale farming
• Remove Biden ‘Climate Smart’ regulations for environmental protection, climate change
• Push ‘America First’ agricultural production policies
• Decrease welfare access: enact work requirement for SNAP food program; tighten eligibility for food stamps, Thrifty Food, and WIC; K-12 school lunch program access
• End required food (safety) labeling; replace with voluntary labeling
• Reform USDA; revise its dietary guidelines
• Restore prior Trump Executive Order to promote timber sales, forest clearing

STC 2025 Commentary

Bakst’s vision echoes longstanding conservative calls to remove government oversight of food and agricultural safety and farming husbandry practices, arguing they hamper business for farmers and ranchers. This includes the call for less environmental stewardship and rules related to sustainability that cut into profits for big agricultural producers. These cuts, coupled with calls to remove food safety labeling, and decrease USDA oversight, would weaken current federal protections for food consumers of American agricultural and animal products. While some reforms might reduce costs of doing business for small farmers, the proposals reflect the goals of big agribusiness producers and desire to lower costs to compete with global competitors.
The call to limit federal welfare food programs, and require SNAP recipients to work, is also a familiar conservative argument that too many people getting federal assistance are taking advantage of the system, choosing to live below the poverty level rather than work. If enacted, the reforms would likely increase hunger in America, and push more of the poorest Americans into greater food insecurity, impacting young children and mothers with limited incomes.

Full Summary

Bakst calls for removing government hurdles to food production for the agricultural industry by reshaping the USDA and reversing Biden policies that conservatives say place climate and environmental concerns over the need to “efficiently produce safe food.” Removing safety and regulatory controls on large-scale farming and producers of agricultural products is central to this goal. Other proposals seek to remove “unjustified” foreign trade barriers blocking market access for American agricultural goods. “Reforms should be based on “sound science, personal freedom, private property, the rule of law, and service to all Americans.”

Here, conservatives argue against the ‘science’ of climate change and industrial threats that underlie Biden policies including “climate smart” policies designed to support food and environmental safety and agricultural sustainability.

Proposals include:

• Via Executive Order, remove all references to transforming the food system on its website and champion principles
  • Adopt ‘America First’ agricultural policies and remove obstacles across the food chain for US farmers
  • Remove the US from UN-driven sustainable-development food production schemes
  • Review policies that impose preferred agricultural practices on farmers (i.e., organic farming, sustainable best practices)
• Avoid, or amend the Secretary of Agriculture’s discretionary authority under section 5 of the Charter Act, of a slush fund of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), a crop insurance program, for pet projects.
  • At a minimum, limit funding to help farmers and ranchers only.
• Review, and eliminate or reform farm subsidy programs
• Separate the agricultural and nutrition aspects of the Farm Bill
• Put nutrition programs like SNAP under HHS, reinstate SNAP work requirements, and tighten eligibility for food stamps programs, including Thrifty Food Program, and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) benefits program, and re-evaluate regulations on baby formula to speed access.
• Review and tighten eligibility for free federal meal programs for K-12 students (the Community Eligibility Provision), applying CEP rules per school, not school district. Consider eliminating CEP.
• Champion elimination of the Conservation Reserve Program; review and reform erodible land wetland conservation policies.
• Promote proactive agriculture policies, removing barriers to state upmarkets and export markets
• Counter scare tactics regarding agricultural biotechnology
• Repeal the federal labeling law, push volunteer labeling
• Restore Trump Executive Order 13855 to promote active management of forests and reduce wildfire risks, but promote timber sales
• Repeal or reform USDA dietary guidelines