Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy

How McDonald’s Latest Regenerative Beef Investment Falls Short — Food & Power RFK Jr. praised McDonald’s $200M donation as the Trump administration cuts USDA staff that support rangeland conservation. Rather than fund short-term projects, advocates want McDonald’s to pay ranche...

I raise a few questions about McDonald's commitment to regen ag here. @nsac-sustainableag.bsky.social puts this initiative in context, including major cuts to #USDA staff managing programs that could help farmers. Great reporting by @clairek.bsky.social www.foodandpower.net/latest/mcdon...

Putting together the puzzle of a successful Farm to School system As part of IATP's exhibition at Farm Aid 40, we created an interactive puzzle that illustrates the complexities of Minnesota’s Farm to Kids system. This article elaborates on each crucial piece of tha...

October is Farm to Kids month! Farm to School & Early Care programs connect kids with local, nutritious foods, and provide an important market for small farmers, strengthening local economies. But it takes more than farmers & schools to make the system work. Learn more: www.iatp.org/farm-school-...

While a U.S. government shutdown looms, Congress has once again failed to pass a new Farm Bill, jeopardizing crucial programs that farmers and rural communities depend on. Read our statement: www.iatp.org/2018-farm-bi...

It was a total blast running into the Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy @iatp.bsky.social at #FarmAid in Minneapolis!

Even better!? Learning about all their #FarmToSchool work in the Homegrown Village 🌱

www.iatp.org/farm-school-... @farmaid.org

There's still time to register for tomorrow's webinar! www.iatp.org/event/ppms-w...

Achieving climate, biodiversity & pollution goals — while upholding human rights — requires fundamental transformation of food systems.

Ahead of COP30 in Brazil, IATP joins nearly 100 organizations in a global open letter calling for a just transition to agroecology.

➡️ www.reimaginefoodsystems.org

Processing & Production Methods Matter: New approaches to food, commodities & the environment. Webinar. Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. 9 a.m. CT

Identical commodities can be produced in very different ways, with vastly different impacts on workers and the environment.

Please join our Oct. 1 webinar to learn why trade agreements exclude processing & production methods, and how new approaches could change that. www.iatp.org/event/ppms-w...

Join the next session in our webinar series!

These sessions unpack some of the most common #FalseSolutions to the climate crisis, exploring the risks they pose & empowering NGOs and activists to challenge them.

🗓️ Monday, 13 October 2025
🕒 15–17 CEST

Sing up now👇 us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
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Processing & Production Methods Matter: New approaches to food, commodities & the environment. Webinar. Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. 9 a.m. CT

Identical commodities can be produced in very different ways, with vastly different impacts on workers and the environment.

Please join our Oct. 1 webinar to learn why trade agreements exclude processing & production methods, and how new approaches could change that. www.iatp.org/event/ppms-w...

The EU’s plans to put a price on agriculture emissions As the rest of the European Union’s economy reduces its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the air is getting thinner for the agriculture sector to escape demands to address the climate pollution caused ...

As the European Commission turns its attention to stubborn GHG emissions from the EU’s food & agriculture sector, they are exploring three potential policy options, with a focus on pricing agriculture emissions and using market mechanisms to encourage climate action. www.iatp.org/eu-agricultu...

Putting together the puzzle of a successful Farm to School system As part of IATP's exhibition at Farm Aid 40, we created an interactive puzzle that illustrates the complexities of Minnesota’s Farm to Kids system. This article elaborates on each crucial piece of tha...

Our #farmaid40 table will also feature an oversized puzzle illustrating the many essential pieces that make a Farm to School system work — it’s a lot more than just farms and schools! www.iatp.org/farm-school-...

So you want to be a farmer? Our current system poses many obstacles As part of our exhibition at Farm Aid 40, we have created an interactive game that highlights some of the unpredictable challenges facing small farmers, and how better agriculture policy can help buil...

As part of our exhibition for the Farm Aid Homegrown Village this Saturday at #farmaid40, we put together interactive and educational games to introduce visitors to our work and explore some of the unpredictable challenges farmers face: www.iatp.org/farmer-chall...

IATP blasts Trump admin’s use of tariffs - Brownfield Ag News The executive director of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy says the Trump administration’s use of tariffs has taken a toll on U.S. farmers and ranchers. “It’s been devastating,” Sophia M...

“Overall, what Trump has done is throw international markets into turmoil. And he’s created doubt in the minds of those who are importing U.S. commodities... that the U.S will not be reliable.” @foodresilience.bsky.social

www.brownfieldagnews.com/news/iatp-bl...

The plan laid out in the “MAHA” strategy report will in fact be disastrous for the health of America’s children. A handful of good ideas will be outweighed by the deregulation agenda, which enables more factory farms, more pesticides, and more harmful contaminants in our environment & our food.

bsky.app/profile/farm...

IATP is excited to be part of Farm Aid next week — if the festival can take place.

We support Farm Aid's stance defending the rights of workers and hope the University of Minnesota comes to the bargaining table and the Farm Aid concert can go forward.

A COP30 Dilemma: How to commodify greenhouse gas emissions reductions If you want to sell and buy greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction credits, stakeholders in the carbon trading system must agree on what is being sold and on system operating rules.

Despite strong objections, including from IATP, a U.N. carbon trading mechanism was adopted last year.

Now, ahead of #COP30, the Article 6.4 Supervisory Body is tasked with the challenge of how to commodify reversible carbon credits. Our latest from Dr. Steve Suppan: www.iatp.org/cop30-commod...

A group of people holding signs and a rainbow flag

Two people on stage at Nyeleni conference

Tropical scene in Sri Lanka

Flags at the diversity forum at Nyeleni, including the U.S. Food Sovereignty Alliance, LGBT pride, Palestine, and LandBack.

A just transition for food systems must center the needs of a wide range of people, including small-scale food producers, Indigenous Peoples & food chain workers. IATP is in Sri Lanka this week, joining the convergence of voices at the Nyéléni Global Forum. nyeleniglobalforum.org/3rd-nyeleni-...

Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy. Shaping the Future of Food. FAQ & Looking Ahead with Executive Director Sophia Murphy. Sept. 16, 2025. 11 a.m. CT

Amid chaotic pivots in trade policy and repression of climate science in the U.S., IATP continues to fight for just & sustainable food systems. Join us at our upcoming webinar to learn more about our current work: www.iatp.org/event/shapin...

The USDA has extended the public comment period on the Department reorganization plan to September 30. Stakeholders can submit comments by email to reorganization@usda.gov.

www.usda.gov/about-usda/n...

IATP submitted comments to the USDA recommending against the reorganization plan. Read our full public comment here: www.iatp.org/iatp-comment...

MN farmer: USDA office shuffle leaves producers in lurch The U.S. Department of Agriculture is extending the public comment period for a controversial plan involving important services for Minnesota farmers and producers around the country, while skeptics o...

The USDA’s “reorganization plan” is expected to result in a massive loss of staff — and with them, institutional knowledge and capacity.

IATP’s Michael Happ spoke with @publicnewsservice.bsky.social about how USDA downsizing hurts farmers and more: app.publicnewsservice.org/story/mn-far...

Removing trade policy obstacles to agroecology and seed sovereignty Central to the survival of small and mid-scale farmers is their right to save, use, exchange and sell their own seeds — that is, what agroecology advocates have come to recognize as their seed soverei...

Central to the survival of small & mid-scale farmers is their "seed sovereignty," or the right to save, use, exchange & sell their own seeds. But those rights are limited by the restrictive international treaty UPOV 91, which protects seed patents at farmers' expense. www.iatp.org/removing-tra...

Enabling better food labeling in USMCA The upcoming review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is an opportunity to reform USMCA provisions that limit transparency about food and food systems. This include rules about mandatory Cou...

NEW: Consumers should have the right to know what’s in their food and where it was produced.

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is up for review this fall, which is an opportunity to improve rules around food labeling & increase transparency in the food system.

www.iatp.org/enabling-bet...

Text "Agreement on Agriculture Re-Imagined" on a coloured sheet

Why are the agricultural trade rules of the WTO insufficient to promote sustainable food systems worldwide, and how can they be re-imagined? In two papers, international experts explain the current weaknesses and present principles to guide a future approach. More 👉 t.ly/6AjiG

A COP30 Dilemma: How to commodify greenhouse gas emissions reductions If you want to sell and buy greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction credits, stakeholders in the carbon trading system must agree on what is being sold and on system operating rules.

In our latest article, Dr. Steve Suppan looks at the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM) and the recommended standard for PACM-issued emissions credits, which will be presented to country delegates at COP30 in November.

www.iatp.org/cop30-commod...

Removing trade policy obstacles to agroecology and seed sovereignty Central to the survival of small and mid-scale farmers is their right to save, use, exchange and sell their own seeds — that is, what agroecology advocates have come to recognize as their seed soverei...

Guaranteeing farmers’ seed sovereignty has emerged as a central tenet to crop-genetic diversity and agroecological transitions, along with farmers’ control of land and other agricultural inputs — which are needed to adapt to rapid climate change. www.iatp.org/removing-tra...

Battling for Farmers' Seed Systems: UPOV 91 and Trade Agreements This memo is an attempt to draw attention to the international policy-level challenges impacting Farmers’ Seed Systems broadly, but with a focus on communities in the Global South, and on how the U.S....

In our newest policy brief, we looked into the issues presented by UPOV 91, an international treaty that protects patented seeds to the detriment of traditional seed systems, rural development, and agroecological transitions in support of local food sovereignty. www.iatp.org/battling-for...

A FarmSTAND branded graphic featuring the banner "Win!" and the following text on a white box in front of an image of a produce vendor: "Judge Restores Grants Illegally Canceled by DOGE and USDA as Case Continues" and "A federal judge ordered plaintiff groups’ grants restored. We fight on for all communities who’ve had grants canceled illegally."

Green FarmSTAND-branded graphic with the following quote attributed to David Muraskin, Managing Director for Litigation at FarmSTAND: "As a result of this ruling, the plaintiffs in this case will be able to support a habitable climate, fair food system, and healthy nation for all again."

VICTORY! The judge issued an order restoring the plaintiffs' canceled grants! This opens the door to justice for similarly wronged groups doing critical work.

Congrats @earthjustice.org, @iatp.bsky.social, and the rest of our allies and plaintiffs.

More: farmstand.org/victory-fede...

Today, a federal judge issued an order reinstating our USDA grant, finding that the grant cancelation was both "arbitrary and capricious."

We are thrilled that the courts have recognized this grant termination as unjust, and hope that this ruling encourages other groups to pursue similar action.