Producing Sustainable, Healthy Foods

Patrick R. McElhiney believes that all foods and beverages should be produced as locally as possible to the customer, through sustainable processes, using energy efficient technologies, and they should be healthy to consume. He also strongly supports America as a net-exporter of foods, because being dependent on foreign imports of food during a time of war is a national security threat. Farms, ranches, and dairies are businesses that are passed down in the family from generation to generation, but unfortunately more and more producers are going out of business because of bad trade policies that allow cheap foreign-made foods to flood the U.S. market, and more recently because of trade tariffs enacted by the Trump Administration that are crippling businesses such as soy bean and whiskey producers. Once a farm goes out of business, usually the land is sold and developed into more residential and commercial lands, which not only decreases the domestic production of farm goods, but also paves the way for more demand for food and beverage products that are increasingly not produced here in the United States.

Imagine if the United States went to war with China. Where do you think our food would come from, then? According to the Alliance for American Manufacturing, China is responsible for 90 percent of the vitamin C, 78 percent of the tilapia, 70 percent of apple juice, 50 percent of cod, 43 percent of processed mushrooms, and 23 percent of the garlic consumed by Americans. The United States imported approximately 3.9 billion pounds of agricultural products from China in 2010—the second largest market for such goods. China imported $13.33 billion worth of soybeans, $2.4 billion worth of cotton, and $1.08 billion worth of wheat from the United States in 2013. The monthly U.S. goods deficit with China reached $30.9 billion in July 2014, an all-time high. China is the largest export market for U.S. Agricultural goods, and we can't even keep up with how much food they import to us—not to mention the lower quality of food that is produced in China due to lax food safety laws. [1]

It didn't used to be this bad—farms started going out of business at the turn of the global economy after the early 1900's. The number of farms in America grew from 1.4 million in 1850, to 4.0 million in 1880, to 6.4 million in 1910; then they started to fall, dropping to 5.6 million in 1950 and 2.2 million in 2008. From the 1940s to the 1950s, the New Deal era farm programs had the goal of supporting farmers. Typical programs in the Farm Bill involved farm loans, commodity subsidies, and price supports. The rapid decline in the number of farms led to a smaller voice in Congress. In the 1970s, well-organized lobbyists including the Farm Bureau worked to appeal to Congress through the food stamp programs for the poor. By the year 2000, the food stamp program was the largest component of the farm bill, however in 2010, the Tea Party movement brought in many Republicans committed to cutting all federal subsidies for agriculture. [2]

Democrats, including Patrick, strongly oppose reductions to the Farm Bill. The Agricultural Act of 2014 passed with bipartisan support, even though many Republican Congressmen voted against the bill. Republicans want to get people off of Food Stamps, while at the same time they are putting America's farmers out of business. [2] The crackdown on illegal immigrants in the United States by the Trump Administration has also taken away the helping hands that many farms on the West Coast depend on—leaving farmers with higher manual labor costs. Many new robotic farming technologies are under development, but many farmers don't have the financial resources to invest into them currently because foreign foods can be produced cheaper and are allowed to flood the U.S. marketplace.

Protecting the Farm Bill

Patrick grew up working for local farmers in Central California, and his father worked for the United States Department of Agriculture for 35 years. Patrick knows how important the Farm Bill is to farming families that depend on the Federal Government for crop subsidies when there are natural disasters including drought and fire, farm credit for the purchase of new technologies like tractors & robotics, and for expansion through the purchase of additional farmland, in addition to the funding it provides for agricultural research, food safety programs, environmental conservation efforts, and the marketing of American agricultural products. [3]

The farm bill also provides titles on commodity programs, international trade, funds for the well-being and development of rural communities, and provides the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). [3] Without the Farm Bill, many low-income Americans wouldn't have financing to have a home to live in, and many more would starve to death. The Republicans want the poor to be required to work to receive food stamps, while Democrats argue that there are people on Food Stamps that can't work—such as the disabled and elderly. Farmers can't afford to have their family business hung out to dry just because of a political debate, but unfortunately, if Republicans had their way, there wouldn't even be a Farm Bill. In 1994 during Mitt Romney's Senate campaign, he called for cutting all farm subsidies and virtually gutting the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). [4] It wasn't a very popular position.

Improved Product Labels

We should follow in the footsteps of the State of Vermont, and require that all foods be labelled whether or not they are made with Genetically Modified Organisms, and whether they are Organic or not. People should have the choice of whether they eat GMO foods or not, because of all of the health problems that can occur when you eat GMO foods.

Healthy, Organic Foods For Everyone

Patrick believes that all people should be able to afford organic foods, because we really don't know what GMO foods, and foods grown with usage of pesticides do to the body after 50+ years of aging. What we do know is that RoundUp causes cancer to farmers that spray it on their crops. If it causes the farmers to get cancer, it's probably possible that the carcinogenic effects of the RoundUp could be in the food as well. All farms should be able to switch to organic ways of production, eventually, as the demand for organic farming increases overall.

Locally Produced Products

We should support local farmers and dairies, as well as other local producers of foods and beverages. Purchasing from local businesses helps our economy, and also helps to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.

Forever Chemicals

The FDA has found high levels of "forever chemicals" in the U.S. food supply. The chemicals are commonly found in paints, non-stick pans, and other coating products. They can cause low birth weight, some types of cancer, and other health problems. They have primarily been found in our meats and chocolate. They can be found in the bloodstreams of 98% of the people in the United States. They build up in the bloodstream, and there's no known way to get them out. Half of all meat and seafood tested included the chemicals. There will be limits set for PFAS exposure from foods by the FDA, however they are still studying how the chemicals affect human health.

Flooding in the Midwest

Nebraska fields are under water again, following flooding in 2011. Farmers are loosing hundreds of thousands of dollars this year alone. Congress has approved $16B in Farm Aid, but farmers prefer trade, not aid. They're under water because of President Trump's tariffs with China as well. In 2018, 90% of corn crops had been planted, compared to 67% at the same time in 2019. Most farmers have crop insurance. Even parts that haven't flooded have been hard to plant, due to erosion and wet soil. There are going to be long-term effects from the tariffs with China. Soy beans and corn are a tough way to make a living right now. There are other farm states that have been affected in similar ways by the Midwest flooding, including Iowa.

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