Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
Dear FIC Supporter,
America’s farmers are routinely exploited and retaliated against for voicing their concerns. We need your help to make sure that farmers have the ability to speak out against industrial agriculture without fear of retaliation!
For years, farmers and their advocates have been telling the USDA that farmers deserve protections from unfair practices. Early this year, we had high hopes that the USDA would finally get something done on behalf of hardworking farmers. To our surprise, instead of developing a rule that would protect vulnerable farmers from retaliation and unfair business practices, the USDA came up with something that serves corporate industry interests instead!
FIC needs your help letting the USDA know that we need them to head back to the drawing board and craft a rule that puts farmers and consumers first.
At a minimum, the proposed Unfair Practice rule needs to:
+ Provide farmers with protections from whistleblower retaliation
+ Provide much-needed clarification about when a farmer must prove that an industry practice that has harmed them individually has also harmed competition in the sector more broadly
Tell the USDA today that you care about what farmers have to say!
You can submit a comment using the template developed by Rural Advancement Foundation International – USA, which can be found here.
OR
CLICK HERE to tell the USDA to amend the rule. You can use the language provided below or let them know your concerns in your own words.
——————————
SAMPLE USDA COMMENT
Dear USDA,
As a concerned consumer, I urge you to amend the proposed rule to give farmers needed protections against unfair practices.
Consumers have urged their Congresspeople to create meaningful rules to improve the lives of famers and improve our food system. We need the USDA to keep that commitment to farmers and draft a proposed rule that recognizes the need for a level playing field between farmers and the industry.
At a minimum, the proposed Unfair Practice rule needs to:
Provide farmers with protections from whistleblower retaliation.
Provide much-needed clarification about when a farmer must prove that an industry practice that has harmed them individually or has harmed competition in the sector more broadly.
Farmers need basic fairness in order for consumers to achieve an accountable, just, safe, and transparent food system.
Sincerely,
[Your Full Name]
[Your Address]