Help Put Farm System Reform into the Farm Bill

It’s been said that the Farm Bill should be called “The Food Bill” because not everyone farms, but everyone eats. It’s misleading to call it the “Farm” Bill because most people do not think of CAFOs (factory farms) when they … Continued

Lunch + Legislation with Adam Mason, ASPCA Senior Manager of Farm Animal Welfare and Environmental Policy

It’s our job [in the animal welfare movement] to make sure this bill is good for animals. Adam Mason The ASPCA’s Policy Platform, released in January 2023, is a good source of information to familiarize yourself with the 2023 Farm … Continued

The Farm Bill and Animals: Challenge and Opportunity

Every five years or so, Congress debates and passes a Farm Bill that will steer the course of farm, food, rural, nutrition, and agricultural policies in this country for half a decade. If you live in the United States, the … Continued

Sara Amundson Returns to Lunch + Legislation to Review the 117th Congress and Preview the 118th

If you were paying attention to the news recently, “dumpster fire” might be an appropriate description for the beginning of the new Congress last month. Sara has been advocating in the halls of Congress since 1988 and she has a … Continued

Important Themes in Animal Law and Policy: 2022 Annual List

We’ve been doing these lists since 2015 and it’s become something of an annual tradition. But it’s also important for animal advocates because this assessment brings perspective to our work. We often celebrate a victory for the animals to discover … Continued

Lunch + Legislation: Sara Amundson, HSLF, on Legislation in Congress

Today we welcomed Sara Amundson, Humane Society Legislative Fund President, to give us an introduction to a major topic that we’ve not delved into on Lunch + Legislation: promoting animal welfare bills in the U.S. House and Senate. You can … Continued

Lunch + Legislation with Prof. Delcianna Winders: Federal Regulations and Why They Matter to Animals

Fact of the matter is that much of the lawmaking that happens in the United States today is not done by Congress but by agencies. Most of us are familiar with legislation (bills that sometimes become laws), and with court … Continued

Lunch + Legislation #15: What’s Up With … Redistricting (and how animal advocates can use it)

We’re starting the year with a discussion of a very important and topical issue from a different perspective. In Michigan and around the country, maps for Congressional and state district boundaries are being re-drawn, and will impact who gets elected … Continued