A look back at our coverage of food regulations, and their impact, at all levels of government.
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A look back at our coverage of food regulations, and their impact, at all levels of government.
December 30, 2024
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Donald Trump shake hands during a campaign rally on August 23, 2024 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo credit: Rebecca Noble, Getty Images)
When we started Civil Eats in 2009, no other news outlet focused its coverage solely on food policy. Now, nearly 16 years later, we believe we’ve helped make food policy a regular part of the national dialogue by explaining how our food system functions, and how it dictates the winners and losers as our nation’s food is produced, distributed, and consumed.
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As we look ahead to 2025, we plan to double down on the complexities of the U.S. food system—its shortcomings and its possibilities—and to report on solutions to the system’s most pressing challenges. Doing so furthers our mission to deepen conversations about food and agriculture, spotlight underrepresented voices, hold the powerful to account, and move us closer to a more equitable, sustainable future.
Those intentions shaped the dozens of food policy stories we brought to you this year, from a look at a local Denver ballot initiative that aimed to close its last commercial slaughterhouse (eliminating 160 jobs) to an examination of Florida immigration law to an analysis of how the 2024 presidential elections could impact the food on our plates.
Here are our best food policy stories of 2024.
Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Should a Plan to Curb Meat Industry Water Pollution Consider the Business Costs?
A calculation of costs has sparked a debate about water pollution from meat and poultry processing plants.
A Florida Immigration Law Is Turning Farm Towns Into ‘Ghost Towns’
Florida is one of a growing number of states threatening to use E-Verify as a way to intimidate and control farmworkers. As farmers face worker shortages and farm communities lose residents, are GOP lawmakers shooting themselves in the foot?
California Farm Counties Are Not Even Close to Meeting the EPA’s New Clean Air Quality Standard
The nation’s largest agriculture region has never been able to meet the EPA’s standard for pollution from particulate matter. Health and environmental justice groups are hoping the new rules will spur urgent action.
Inside Bayer’s State-by-State Efforts to Stop Pesticide Lawsuits
As the agrichemical giant lays groundwork to fend off Roundup litigation, its use of a playbook for building influence in farm-state legislatures has the potential to benefit pesticide companies nationwide.
USDA Photo by Lance Cheung
New School Meal Standards Could Put More Local Food on Students’ Lunch Trays
USDA’s nutrition standards aim to support farmers.
Pesticide Industry Could Win Big in Latest Farm Bill Proposal
A draft farm bill language could weaken protections from pesticide risk.
Senator Cory Booker Says FDA Proposal Could Worsen Antibiotic Resistance
The New Jersey senator sends a letter to the agency, asking it to enforce limits on farm use of antibiotics.
Republican Plans for Ag Policy May Bring Big Changes to Farm Country
Project 2025 and the Republican Study Committee budget both propose major changes to how the government supports commodity farmers. They might face strong opposition from ag groups and their farm constituents.
Project 2025 Calls for Major Cuts to the US Nutrition Safety Net
The conservative playbook proposes sweeping changes to the USDA that would impact both SNAP and WIC.
The US Weakens a UN Declaration on Antibiotic Resistance
The government undercuts a proposal to protect public health.
Minh and Nhu-Hai Ngo on their chicken farm in Vienna, Georgia. (Photo courtesy of the Ngos)
For Contract Farmers, the Election Could Change Everything—or Nothing at All
The Biden administration has done more than other administrations to protect farmers from corporate abuses, but some say it’s not nearly enough. Would Harris or Trump do things differently?
Can Trump and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. ‘Make America Healthy Again’?
MAHA lands on Capitol Hill.
The Fate of Denver’s Last Slaughterhouse Is on the Ballot
Denver voters are facing a complicated choice between jobs, workers’ rights, and animal welfare.
Op-ed: What a Second Trump Administration Could Mean for Your Food
The likely scenarios: higher prices, less nutritious food, and an increased risk of pathogens in the food supply. And that’s not the half of it.
Will Disaster Relief Come Through for North Carolina’s Small Farms?
For farms hit by flooding, the USDA is the nation’s main safety net—but it’s already failed small farmers in Vermont.
July 30, 2025
From Oklahoma to D.C., a food activist works to ensure that communities can protect their food systems and their future.
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