Just over a year into the second Trump presidency, we’ve seen remarkable cruelty, lawless power grabs, and repeated attempts to line the pockets of the powerful at the expense of our wallets, our health, and our communities. But we’ve also seen people standing together, refusing to let corporations and corrupt politicians decide our future.

At our recent Livable Future LIVE, we sat down with Food & Water Watch experts to discuss the state of our food, water, and climate heading into 2026 and how, with you, we’re taking action to protect them. We heard from:

• Alex Beauchamp, Northern Region Director,
• Jim Walsh, Policy Director,
• Mary Grant, Public Water for All Director,
• Mitch Jones, Director of Policy and Litigation,
• Rebecca Wolf, Senior Food Policy Analyst, and
• Tarah Heinzen, Legal Director

Here are the top takeaways:

Our Food, Water, and Climate Face Unprecedented Attacks…

The Trump administration has unleashed a pro-corporate, deregulatory agenda that is putting all we hold dear at risk. Thanks to the president and his cronies in Congress, we face:

1. Increasing threats to clean, affordable, public water

Trump has made it a priority to open the gates for corporate abuses of one of our most precious and essential resources. He’s working to gut clean water funding, roll back protections against pollutants like PFAS forever chemicals, and clear the way for private corporations to seize our water and wastewater systems. 

2. Unsafe, expensive food and growing corporate power

Trump’s second term has been chock-full of handouts to Big Ag that give it more profits and power, while stripping protections meant to keep our food and environment safe. Moreover, while his policies make food more expensive, he’s working to gut vital programs that provide food to struggling families in the midst of an affordability crisis. 

3. More dirty energy, pollution, and more climate chaos 

As Trump rolls back essential environmental and climate protections, Big Oil and Gas are pushing boondoggles like carbon capture and storage and getting rewarded for it. At the same time, Trump is encouraging Big Tech’s energy-hungry data centers — a boon to dirty energy facilities that have grown to meet the demand.

… But We Have a Winning Strategy to Defend Our Planet!

Despite the dire straits Trump has put us in, our tried-and-true strategy has beaten the odds over and over. We know that to defend our food, water, and climate, we need to approach it from many angles. With you, we’re:

1. Winning important protections at the state and local level

From stopping the Cancer Gag Act in Iowa to building support for state Climate Superfund bills, Food & Water Watch is winning real improvements in people’s lives and countering the chaos at the federal level. 

In 2025, we called for a nationwide stop to new data centers, and we’re building the momentum toward that goal by supporting state moratorium bills like New York’s and local fights to protect communities from data center proposals. “When people come together locally, we not only can win these fights, we’re winning them over and over again,” said Alex.

2. Fighting Trump’s agenda through the courts

From day one, the Trump administration has come ready to plow through its agenda, heedless of the law or precedent. But luckily, its hasty and sweeping efforts give us openings to fight back. From defending our water from Trump’s Clean Water Act rollbacks to protecting communities from pollution, we’re taking on strategic lawsuits and weighing in on some of the most important environmental matters facing the courts. 

Despite Trump’s lawlessness, Tarah explained, “Challenges to this administration are working.” The courts are restoring climate and environmental funding and moving forward renewable energy projects that Trump has sought to stall. Legal action is a key strategy to defend our food, water, and climate.

3. Blocking the worst of Trump’s policies while building support for the bold solutions we need

With dedicated activists like you, we’ve stopped efforts to strip protections against lead in our drinking water, take away school lunch programs, and more. We’re continuing that work in 2026, tracking Trump’s moves and mobilizing people power to shut down the biggest threats to our food, water, and climate.

At the same time, we’re laying the groundwork and gathering allies for positive policy that will help secure our livable future. As Rebecca said, “It’s really, really important that we’re pushing for the future that we know we need, not just what is possible in this exact moment.” That includes visionary legislation like the WATER Act, to secure permanent clean water funding, and the Farm System Reform Act, to finally break up Big Ag’s polluting factory farm system.

With You, We’ll Win a Livable Future For All

The powerful corporations and oligarchs who dominate our lives want us to believe their vision of the world is inevitable. But we know that isn’t true. As Food & Water Watch has shown again and again, we can win against corporate greed and corruption with smart strategy and people power.

We will continue to fight Trump, and we will continue to win major victories for our food, water, climate, and communities.

Check out the full recording of “The State of Our Food & Water: One Year In” to learn more about:

• The federal bills to keep an eye on in 2026, including the Farm Bill and a major water spending bill,
• How we won major victories in 2026 on microplastics and data centers,
• Our biggest opportunities for progress, including clean water protections in Iowa and a Climate Superfund bill in New Jersey, 
• and much more!

Learn More and Take Action!

• Read about our victory driving seven governors to petition the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to monitor microplastics in our drinking water!
  • Seven governors have signed on. Now we have to make sure the EPA follows through. Sign this petition demanding the EPA monitor microplastics!
• Safeguard farmers, workers, rural communities, and consumers with a stop to Big Ag mergers. Sign the petition today!
• Tell Congress: Support the WATER Act!
• Check out our volunteer opportunities and upcoming events. 
• Join us in New York City for our annual benefit reception, Against All Odds: Illustrating Activism, on April 29. We’re excited for an evening of celebration and solidarity with food, drinks, a silent auction, a special live musical performance with Britton and the Sting, and, most importantly, the company of your fellow activists!
• Join us online for our virtual program, Against All Odds: Illustrating Activism on May 24, where we’ll hear from Ada Limón, author and 24th Poet Laureate of the United States; Maude Barlow, author of Earth For Sale: The Fight to Stop the Last Plunder of the Planet; and more!
• Your generosity helps fight for a livable future for all. Donate to Food & Water Watch!
• Check out our Consumer’s Guide to PFAS: Side-Stepping “Forever Chemicals” in Your Daily Life. 
• Learn 5 Ways to Avoid Eating and Drinking Microplastics.