Climavores: Where food and agriculture fit into America’s big climate bill

08/24/22 • 51 min

Last week, Barack Obama called President Biden’s signing of the Inflation Reduction Act a “BFD” on Twitter. With about $370 billion worth of climate funding, it’s an especially BFD for the planet.

The IRA marks the single largest climate investment in U.S. history, promising lower energy costs, increased energy security, targeted decarbonization efforts across all sectors of the economy, investments in disadvantaged communities, and support for rural communities. But how will it impact food and agriculture in particular?

In this episode, Mike and Tamar dig into the bill’s fine print and highlight some of the “Climavores provisions” they’re excited about. They also check whether Congress followed their four-point plan to promote eating less beef, tackle food waste, ditch biofuels, and safeguard yields. (Spoiler alert: they mostly didn’t). But both agree, there’s still lots to like in this bill.

Resources:

AgWeb: What's Ag's Stake in the Senate-Passed Inflation Reduction Act?
The Hill: Inflation Reduction Act puts our oldest climate-fighting technology to work
Holland & Knight: The Inflation Reduction Act: Summary of Budget Reconciliation Legislation
farmdocDAILY: Reviewing the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022; Part 1

Have a question about food and climate change for Mike and Tamar? Leave a message on the Climavores hotline at (508) 377-3449. Or email us at [email protected]. We might feature your question on a future episode.

Climavores is a production of Post Script Media.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Resources:

AgWeb: What's Ag's Stake in the Senate-Passed Inflation Reduction Act?
The Hill: Inflation Reduction Act puts our oldest climate-fighting technology to work
Holland & Knight: The Inflation Reduction Act: Summary of Budget Reconciliation Legislation
farmdocDAILY: Reviewing the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022; Part 1

Climavores is a production of Post Script Media.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Previous Episode

Climavores: The intersection of animal welfare and climate

Prioritizing efficiency in the U.S. chicken industry has made chicken cheap. And that’s led, in part, to Americans eating way more chicken and significantly less beef than they did a half-century ago. From a climate change perspective, it’s a major win. From an animal welfare perspective... not so much.

In this episode, Mike and Tamar look at animal welfare in the beef, pork and chicken industries through a climate lens. They ask whether raising animals more humanely means accepting higher greenhouse gas emissions, or whether there’s a middle ground. And Mike responds to a reader’s critique of his recent Canary Media article “What’s the most climate-friendly way to eat? It’s tricky.” Plus, are organically raised animals treated better than industrially raised?

And Mike asks the question: What do we owe the animals we eat?

Climavores is a production of Post Script Media.

Resources:

College of Agriculture and Environmental Science: Examining the effects of hen housing
Science Direct: Evaluating environmental impacts of contrasting pig farming systems with life cycle assessment
NYTimes: Hens, Unbound

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Next Episode

Climavores: Don’t tread on my pork!

Earlier this month, Cracker Barrel announced the addition of plant-based sausage to its breakfast menu. It was a move largely applauded by vegans, vegetarians and environmentalists alike; but plenty of meat eaters had a different take. ”YOU CAN TAKE MY PORK SAUSAGE WHEN YOU PRY IT FROM MY COLD DEAD HANDS!!! read one Facebook comment.

It’s not surprising to see food so intrinsically linked to our identities. We’ve become an increasingly polarized nation, both politically and socially. Across the U.S. there are now counties where Democrats make up 3% of the population and counties where they make up 95%. Mike describes it as two different Americas – one of bike paths, composting, and NPR; another of pickup trucks, megachurches, and Fox News.

In this episode, Mike and Tamar look at how we make decisions, and whether it’s possible for us to change our minds or behaviors around an emotional issue like food. They dig into confirmation bias, echo chambers, and our increasing tendency to complain about everything. And Tamar asks listeners to think about the last time they changed their minds about something truly meaningful.

Climavores is a production of Post Script Media.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices