Research

The Farm Bureau’s Billions: The Voice of Farmers or Agribusiness?

Published on July 30, 2010 - Fact Sheets: Calling itself the “voice of agriculture” and promoting itself as a tireless defender of farmers, the American Farm Bureau Federation has successfully positioned itself as one of the most powerful interest groups in the United States. A cursory look beyond its pro-farmer public relations campaign, however, reveals billions of dollars in assets, close alliances with the insurance industry, and legions of lobbyists — making it difficult to view the Farm Bureau in a different light from the powerful agribusiness corporations with which it regularly partners.

Yes We Can: Why Obama Must Put Human Rights First and Support the Right to Water

Published on July 26, 2010 - Fact Sheets: Formal recognition of the human right to water by the United Nations is a vital first step to ensure that all people have access to this most basic human need. Yet the United States government has historically opposed this movement. It is time for the administration of Barack Obama to take a stand for human rights and throw its support behind a U.N. resolution that codifies the human right to water.

U.S. Seafood and the BP Gulf Disaster

Published on July 16, 2010 - Fact Sheets: The massive oil spill resulting from the blowout of BP’s Deepwater Horizon has been devastating not only to the marine, coastal and wetland habitats of the Gulf of Mexico, but also to one of the United States’ most productive fishing communities. As of July 2010, just over a third of federal waters in the Gulf have been closed to fishing, more than half of Louisiana state waters are closed, and access to shrimping areas is extremely limited. With decreasing amounts of seafood coming from the Gulf for an indefinite period of time, this disaster could have a large impact on the U.S. seafood supply.

Not So Fast, Natural Gas

Published on July 14, 2010 - Fact Sheets: After witnessing BP’s devastating Deepwater Horizon’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, some industry analysts are suggesting that domestic natural gas is a good onshore alternative. Even before the spill, some said natural gas could be a “game changer” if new technology allowed drillers to tap into shale rock formations on a large scale. But because the same technology poses threats to water, accelerating this natural gas drilling could be our next energy disaster.