New Polling Shows Widespread Support for Prioritizing Sustainability

And Growing Healthy Foods in 2023 Farm Bill

Ahead of Food Not Feed Summit, national polling shows 84% of voters support policies that incentivize farmers to implement sustainable and resilient agriculture practices

A new poll released today conducted by GQR on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future’s (CLF) Food Citizen Project in collaboration with Farm Action shows overwhelming, bipartisan support from voters for Congress to prioritize sustainable agriculture and growing healthier foods in the 2023 Farm Bill.

With Farm Bill negotiations heating up, President Biden’s State of the Union address and the Food Not Feed Summit next week, the release of this poll is timely: 88 percent of voters want Congress to make it a high priority to produce food in a sustainable way and to make healthy foods more available to all Americans.

The poll also found that 84% of voters support policy proposals that would incentivize farmers and ranchers to implement sustainable and resilient agricultural practices, and 78% want American agriculture policy to prioritize healthy and sustainable food for humans over feed for animals.

“Government policies have for too long stood in the way of farmers looking to grow and raise the healthy food they know their communities need, instead caving to multinational corporations and incentivizing the growth of feed grains to subsidize corporate livestock operations,” said Joe Maxwell, President and Co-Founder of Farm Action. “This poll shows that Americans across party lines want a better agricultural system that puts farmers in the best position to produce healthy food for their local communities.”

Mr. Maxwell continued, “In a polarized country, it’s rare to experience this level of bipartisan support, but Americans of all stripes have made it clear that supporting sustainable, local farming should be a priority for Congress and the President.”

In 2019, a paltry four percent of federal farm support dollars went toward the production of fruits and vegetables, as opposed to the 30 percent of federal farm support dollars that domestic meat, poultry, eggs, and animal feed received. This poll underscores the American public’s support for a massive shift in agriculture policy that better aligns with nutritional recommendations and American values.

The poll was conducted in collaboration with Farm Action, which next week is hosting the Food Not Feed Summit in Washington, D.C. to raise awareness around the 2023 Farm Bill and a number of the issues raised by the poll, including ensuring that the Farm Bill shifts

incentive towards sustainable agriculture practices and incentives for farmers to produce healthy food for their local communities. The Summit includes prominent speakers including Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), and will be bookended by visits to legislators on the Hill.

The poll was conducted through an online survey of 1000 nationally registered voters from Jan 12, 2023 – Jan 23, 2023. The data has been weighted to reflect the demographic composition of the registered voter population for the nation.

Farm Action leverages its research, policy development, advocacy campaigns, and political expertise to create a food and agriculture system that works for everyday people rather than a handful of powerful corporations. We are joined in our movement by farmers, ranchers, rural communities, food system workers, policymakers, advocates, and anyone who eats.