MIDTERM ELECTION UPDATE: Victories Amid Uncertain Results

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by Mia DiFelice

In the morning after election day, several Senate races and dozens of House races remain undecided. Though we don’t yet have final results, nor a complete picture of which party will control Congress, one thing is absolutely clear: we stopped the predicted red wave. Democrats won key races across the country, and the relentless work of Food & Water Action and our dedicated members and volunteers made a real difference. 

Last night showed a historic rejection of the regressive forces that were desperately trying to claw their way back to power. Voters across the county said “No!” to corporate shills, climate deniers, and would-be authoritarians bent on undermining American democracy. 

Food & Water Action is proud to have stood at the center of this battle for the future of the country. And we are excited to see our endorsed and supported candidates prepare to enter the halls of Congress, several for the first time.

In the months before the midterms, Food & Water Action and our allies rallied behind progressive candidates and drove voters to the polls. Thousands of our members and volunteers joined this effort, making nearly 500,000 calls to voters and knocking on more than 27,000 doors across the country. Our work has paid off in key races across the country. Here are just a few:

John Fetterman Turns Pennsylvania Senate Seat Blue

In an evenly divided Senate, we knew that every opportunity to flip a seat mattered. Not only did we have to keep the majority — we had an opportunity to make Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), the conservative tie-breaker, irrelevant.

In a huge get-out-the-vote effort, our organizers knocked on 20,000 doors and made 220,000 calls in Pennsylvania. We also secured more than 1,000 commitments from voters to call on at least three friends to make their voices heard at the polls. 

While the fate of the Senate remains unclear, John Fetterman’s win vastly improves Democrats’ odds of keeping their majority there, and even making Manchin irrelevant. 

Chris Deluzio Clinches PA Battleground District

Pennsylvania’s 17th District saw a battleground race between a Republican corporate exec and Democratic newcomer Chris Deluzio. Food & Water Action knew early on that this race would be crucial. By election night, our volunteers and members knocked on 20,000 doors and generated more than 92,000 calls to voters in this district. 

Deluzio ran to defend democracy, unions, and working families. On the campaign trail, he’s promised to take on corporate power and grow union jobs in clean energy. Clearly, his message resonated. And the resulting victory was instrumental in shutting down a red wave in the House.

Summer Lee Shakes Things Up in Fracking Country

Despite millions of dollars weaponized against her and dirty tactics on her opponent’s behalf, Summer Lee has clinched a victory.

Lee will serve the 2nd-most gas-producing state in the country, smack dab in the middle of the fracking-plagued Marcellus Shale region. She was not only a strong progressive candidate in a battleground state — she was the only Democrat in her primary to call for a ban on fracking. 

We knew we had to show up for Summer Lee and work hard on her behalf. Over the past few months, Food & Water Action generated more than 112,000 phone calls and 3,000 handwritten letters getting out the vote for her. At the polls, we handed out “Summer Voter” stickers to anyone who texted friends reminding them to vote, resulting in 2,160 reminder texts.

Now, Representative-elect Lee will tackle environmental racism and support working families. She will crack down on corporate influence in politics. And she will fight for a Green New Deal and a 100% clean energy transition we need.

Maxwell Frost Becomes First Gen-Z Candidate in Congress

Our endorsed candidate Maxwell Alejandro Frost is headed for Capitol Hill. The first Gen Z Congressmember, Representative-elect Frost brings his experience as a national organizer against gun violence to Florida’s 10th district.

Along with Food & Water Action, Frost gathered endorsements from the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the AFL-CIO, Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and a host of progressive organizations and lawmakers. His campaign has been a lesson in movement-building — not just mobilizing voters around a candidate, but around a shared vision for the future. 

That vision includes tackling climate change, defending working families and marginalized communities, and securing a future safe for all.

Jamaal Bowman Stays Fighting For New York

When it came to NY16’s progressive incumbent Jamaal Bowman, we knew what he is capable of. That’s why we endorsed him — again.

For example, last summer, in the midst of corporate price gouging and rising energy prices, Rep. Bowman introduced the Emergency Price Stabilization Act. When enacted, the bill will empower the White House to set prices in key sectors.

We need more bold legislation like this — not only to fight rising inflation and protect working families, but also to respond to the looming threat of climate chaos on our economy. With Rep. Bowman still in Congress, we’re heartened to know we’ve kept a fighter in our corner.

No Matter the Results, We’ll Keep Defending the Planet

We are proud of these victories and these candidates. The results so far have made clear: when candidates speak up and mobilize around bold, progressive policies, they win.

That’s true on the national stage and in state and local races, including ones we supported like Iowa’s State Senator Sarah Trone Garriott, who defeated the Republican Senate President, and New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

But as we wait for the midterms’ final tallies, we know that whatever the results, the fight continues. Every day, the planet becomes more unlivable and greedy corporations tighten their stranglehold on our economy. 

In the weeks to come, we’ll be breaking down the results and strategizing with allies. At the same time, we will double down on our fight against election deniers, corporate mouthpieces, and puppets for polluting industries. 

And our overarching goal remains the same: supporting candidates who will take the bold action we need to secure safe food, clean water, and a livable future for all.

We can’t do this work without you!

In These Midterms, Vote For Cracking Down on Wall Street Greed

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by Mia DiFelice

We all remember how the 2008 financial crisis devastated workers and families. Homes were foreclosed, jobs evaporated, small businesses shuttered. Essentials like gasoline and food grew unaffordable for millions. 

Back then, we knew exactly who to blame: Wall Street titans, who gambled our economic future on short-term get-rich-quick schemes. But in the aftermath of that crisis, Wall Street walked away with a slap on the wrist and hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars. In fact, markets have become less regulated since.

Now, in the midst of multiple crises at home and abroad, Wall Street speculators are diving into the chaos to make a quick buck. And once again, workers and families are bearing the brunt of their bets, in the form of higher prices. 

Wall Street Speculation Raises The Cost of Living

The U.S. stock market is full of trading on commodities like copper, oil, grain, and other raw goods. Farmers and producers use financial tools like futures contracts to sell commodities to buyers. These contracts help producers and buyers to lock in stable prices in volatile markets.

But markets for commodities trading have become destinations for speculators, who trade for profit only, not for the commodities themselves. They now outnumber real producers and consumers in commodities markets.

Speculators buy and sell contracts that essentially bet on changes in the markets. For example, one could buy a contract that pegs next week’s oil price at $100 a barrel. The more the price rises over $100, the more the speculator profits off the contract. 

But this creates perverse incentives. The more wildly commodity prices swing, the more money speculators can make. 

Recently, speculation has fanned the flames of rising grocery and gasoline prices. For instance, in the oil market, Wall Street’s bets on oil far outnumber any real, physical trades on it. Speculators trade about 13 times the amount of oil that actually changes hands in real life.

Speculation’s growth massively affects prices. One economist estimates that in oil markets, speculation intensifies price changes rooted in market fundamentals (for example, supply and demand) ten-fold. It’s no coincidence that at a time of frenzied speculation, global food prices shot up 84% in two years and oil prices shot up 55% in just five months.

Wall Street Makes Billions Off Everyone Else’s Struggles

Under-regulated commodity trading has allowed a flurry of activity in the wake of recent global crises, which had already volatile markets swinging wildly. In early 2022, speculation on the rising prices of grains and oilseeds hit highs last seen in 2012. In January of this year, prices for fracked gas futures skyrocketed 46% in one day, the highest single-day gain on record. 

The sharks of Wall Street had descended on the blood in the water.

As the invasion of Ukraine heightened energy anxieties, commodity traders pulled in record returns and commodity-trading hedge funds got their own boost. Meanwhile, banks trading commodities on Wall Street were propelled toward record profits — projected to total $18 billion by the end of the year.

Commodity trading is so lucrative that some of the biggest traders in commodity markets are corporations wrapped up in the commodities themselves. That includes meat and agricultural behemoth Cargill, oil refining and petrochemical giant Koch Industries, and many more megacorporations cashing in on today’s crises. Oil corporation Shell earns on average $4 billion a year from their trade activity.

Meanwhile, working families can barely get by.

We Can and Must Rein in Wall Street

Our recent gas and grocery prices have made it clearer than ever—the U.S. must do more to defend our economy and our families from Wall Street’s manipulation. 

Following the 2008 financial crisis, the federal government cracked down on speculators — but it wasn’t nearly enough. In particular, the biggest trading firms successfully lobbied against position limits (limits on the number of contracts held by a single trader and class of traders). In 2020, the Trump administration punted a new position limits rule.

Elected officials in office must take the threat of speculation seriously — and Democrats are doing just that. After years of deregulation, accelerated by the previous administration, Democrats plan to hold Wall Street accountable.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), a member of the subcommittee that oversees the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, has made clear his worries about the role of speculation in our food and oil prices. Now, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) have asked CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam to investigate the role of commodity markets in today’s inflationary prices. 

We can only continue this progress with more and better Democrats in office.

You can help us fight corporate speculation by getting out the vote. Chat with three friends about heading to the polls!

To Fight Inflation, Fight Corporate Profiteering At The Polls

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by Mitch Jones

Food & Water Action is no stranger to fighting corporate greed. Our partner organization, Food & Water Watch, has been exposing corporate abuses for more than 15 years. 

Greed and market power brings grievous harms to consumers, workers, and the environment. But with a convergence of crises — the COVID-19 pandemic, international strife, climate-fueled natural disasters — corporations are bringing it to a whole new level. 

In the wake of these crises (many still ongoing), inflation is kicking people who are already struggling. And predictably, megacorporations are exploiting the moment to make even more money, while leaving everyday people in the dust. 

To hold corporations accountable and bring relief to working families, we need a strong turnout in November’s midterm elections. Democrats may not be doing enough to tout their accomplishments, but they’ve taken the lead on reining in corporate greed and helping working families. 

On the issues closest to voters — the same issues Food & Water Action has been mobilizing around — Democrats have a clear agenda. Their work can only continue if they hold onto their majority in Congress. 

Our Energy Prices Are Rising at Every Turn

Fossil fuel corporations didn’t invent corporate greed, but they have perfected it. To keep their dying industry afloat, Big Oil has been cashing in on global instability to squeeze every last cent they can out of families. 

We have blown the whistle on Big Oil’s outrageous maneuvers again and again. As important as our advocacy, though, Democrats in Congress have heeded our calls to action with policies that benefit consumers. 

Look no further than the windfall profits tax introduced by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). The bill would claw back Big Oil’s ill-gotten gains and return them to struggling households. By maintaining and expanding the progressive majority, we can move bills like this forward for the benefit of working families. 

More recently, U.S. consumers have faced climbing gasoline prices, while Big Oil sends scarce supplies abroad to the highest bidders. Food & Water Watch calculated that in 2021, the U.S. exported over 12 billion gallons of gasoline. That’s more than a month’s worth of our national gasoline consumption. 

The trend continued in 2022: in the first six months of this year, the U.S. exported just over 6.4 billion gallons of gasoline -– a nearly 9% increase from 2021.

But again, Democrats in Congress listened to calls from Food & Water Action to ban gasoline exports. In October, Rep. Khanna introduced the Gasoline Export Ban Act to protect American consumers from Big Oil’s inflationary schemes. 

Market Power Sends Grocery Bills Sky-High

While fossil fuel giants hurt consumers at the pump, their agribusiness counterparts squeeze us at the grocery store. Giant food corporations are using inflation and supply chain problems as cover to boost profits. In fact, net profit margins for the country’s four top food corporations are up over 300%.

We have long gone to bat against food corporations to help consumers. When food behemoth Smithfield lied to consumers about pandemic meat shortages, we sounded the alarm — and Democrats in Congress heard us

Moreover, our research has meticulously exposed how the market power of a few megacorporations threatens our food, our families, workers, and the environment. Most recently, Food & Water Watch detailed how corporate speculation and the manipulation of commodity markets drives up food prices. 

Fortunately, Congressional Democrats have a consumer-focused agenda that, once enacted, will give families much-needed relief at the grocery store. This includes legislation they introduced such as the Farm System Reform Act and the Food and Agribusiness Merger Moratorium and Antitrust Review Act

Both of the bills will help break the corporate stranglehold on our food system and level the playing field for farmers and consumers. Of course, the giant food monopolies profiting from consumer misery are fighting this legislation, as well as any common sense measures that curtail their power and benefit working families. 

They’re using all of their power and influence to block the progressive agenda and elect more corporate shills in the midterm elections. But we’re fighting to stop them.

Democrats Will Fight Inflation by Fighting Corporate Greed

The November midterms will decide whether we can make common sense consumer protection a reality. Corporate profiteers are desperate to break the progressive majority. And if Republican corporate mouthpieces seize power, consumers will continue to suffer. 

Food & Water Action is working tirelessly to mobilize voters in support of candidates who will serve them. We are striving toward a future where a few billionaires and corporations can no longer profit off our suffering; a future with a livable — affordable, accessible — future that we can all share. 

Help us get out the vote! Sign up to ask three friends to vote for climate champions in this election.

Kick Manchin To The Curb — Elect More And Better Democrats

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by Mark Schlosberg

This year’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) marked the nation’s first-ever major piece of climate legislation. The Act, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden, was a tribute to the growing climate movement. But because of one Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), the Act was not nearly bold enough. 

Worse, it was larded up with fossil fuel industry giveaways, including billions in subsidies for the climate scam carbon capture and storage. The Act also opens the Gulf of Mexico to more drilling and holds renewable development on public lands hostage to drilling permits. 

Over the last two years, an even Senate split has given coal baron Joe Manchin final say over much of the Democratic agenda, slowing our transition off fossil fuels. But there is no reason Manchin should have so much power. 

This November, we have a chance to make him irrelevant by voting in more Democratic senators and shifting the balance of power. 

Manchin Heaps Gifts on Big Oil, Blocking Bold Climate Action

Over the last two years, Sen. Manchin has blocked Biden’s agenda and meaningful climate action. In doing this, he has consistently carried water for the fossil fuel industry. 

First, Manchin held up Biden’s infrastructure agenda by cutting a deal with Republicans to create the bipartisan infrastructure bill, rather than just passing Biden’s Build Back Better proposal. In doing so, Manchin secured funding for industry pet projects like carbon capture, hydrogen, and fossil fuels, including specific fossil fuel projects. 

Next, Manchin walked back his commitment to advance Biden’s agenda until he could pare down its scope and ambition significantly. The result was the Inflation Reduction Act. Again, Manchin made sure the legislation was filled with gifts to his fossil fuel patrons (the senator receives more donations from the fossil fuel industry than any of his colleagues). 

But even with the IRA and its giveaways in hand, Manchin wasn’t done. He has since pushed a dirty side deal to fast track more fossil fuel projects under the guise of “permitting reform.” Thus far, thanks to organizing and an outcry of opposition, we shut down the deal for now.

Manchin Only Has Power in a 50-50 Senate

How can one Senator force through such a litany of pro-fossil fuel provisions, even as global warming continues to escalate? It has only been possible with an evenly divided senate. 

With this split, a single senator can cast a tie-breaking vote. And by threatening to withhold that vote, that senator can single-handedly set the terms of the party’s agenda. And this is exactly what Manchin has done.

Democrats entered their current tripartite majority (President, Senate, and House) with big plans to fight climate change and help workers and families. But Manchin blocked support for climate measures, healthcare, and more. He nixed some of the most transformational measures in what would have been Build Back Better, and then in what became the Inflation Reduction Act.

If Democrats had a majority with only two more senators, Manchin and his sometime ally, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), would no longer have such powerful votes. The rest of the party could move forward without them — in essence, making Manchin irrelevant.

With Our Work, Democrats Can Take The Senate And Hold The House

This November, we have a chance to make Sen. Manchin irrelevant and advance a bolder and more progressive climate agenda. That depends, however, on Democrats expanding their majority in the Senate and holding the House. Simply put, we need more and better Democrats. 

Food & Water Action is working to make this happen. In these midterms, we’re campaigning for progressives in tight races that could make or break the next few years of climate action.

For instance, strong progressive Jamie McLeod Skinner could win a swing district in Oregon. Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, we’re supporting Chris DeLuzio and climate champion Summer Lee. These Pennsylvania districts are especially important, as increasing turnout will improve the odds that Democrat John Fetterman wins the state’s open Senate seat against right-wing, Trump-supported Mehmet Oz. 

This election cycle, turnout is critical. Despite Manchin’s huge drag on the Democratic agenda, Democrats are the party in power and face major headwinds. It’s going to take an all-out effort, but winning is possible.

Together, we can expand Democratic control in the House and Senate and work over the next two years to advance a progressive food, water, and climate agenda. 

Help us get out the vote — commit to asking friends and family to head to the polls!

The Threat of Carbon Pipelines Looms Large Over Iowa Midterms

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by Emma Schmit and Mia DiFelice

In a political landscape cleaved more and more by division, one issue in Iowa has united folks from all walks of life: opposition to hazardous carbon pipelines. 

Three corporations have planned to build thousands of miles of pipelines through Iowans’ backyards. And they’re not above doing so without landowners’ consent. If the state grants them eminent domain, Summit, Navigator and ADM/Wolf could build on private land without an easement (the landowner’s express permission). 

These pipelines threaten the lives and livelihoods of Iowans across the state. And so, the movement against eminent domain has grown over the past several months. “No eminent domain for private gain” has become a rallying cry. 

Now, as the midterm elections approach, we know where Iowans stand. And Food & Water Action is doing everything we can to make sure we’re heard at the polls.

Carbon Capture Brings Only Risks, No Rewards

The proposed network of pipelines are part of corporate profiteers’ newest scam, “carbon capture and storage.” The pipelines will transport hazardous carbon dioxide gas from ethanol and fertilizer facilities throughout Iowa and the Midwest to injection wells.

Pipeline companies claim that these sites safely sequester carbon deep underground, but in reality, they often leak. And besides, most captured carbon is injected into oil wells to extract even more fossil fuels.

These companies say carbon capture is crucial climate action. But we know they’re lying through their teeth. Carbon capture projects in the U.S. have actually increased emissions, when accounting for all the dirty energy needed to power them.

Not only does carbon capture threaten the climate — it also poses dire risks to those who live near it. In the case of a leak or rupture, high amounts of CO2 can asphyxiate people. This kind of dangerous infrastructure has no place in backyards. 

In August, Summit began filing for eminent domain for 60% of its route through Iowa. Maps of their route show they may need more than that. They’ve had a year to wine and dine our politicians with unprecedented campaign cash and lobbying money. But they’ve failed to bring Iowans on board with their scam. We know our land isn’t worth what Summit’s offering.

Carbon Capture Companies Aren’t Playing Fair

In a sore loser move, Summit is now suing landowners in South Dakota and Iowa who have refused to grant easements. Texas-based Navigator has sued four other groups of Iowa landowners for refusing to grant the company access to their private properties. 

It’s only a matter of time before these corporations ramp up their efforts. But it will be our elected officials and public institutions that cast the final vote in this debate. Ultimately, state legislators will decide whether carbon pipelines have the right to eminent domain. 

This November, we can cast our vote for the candidates that stand with Iowans in opposing carbon pipelines.

It’s Not Just You — Carbon Pipelines Are Unpopular Among Iowa Voters

This year, Food & Water Action commissioned polling in Iowa by Change Research to see what Iowans really think of carbon pipelines.

We found that:

  • Only 35% of Iowa voters support the three carbon pipelines. 44% oppose them and 21% are unsure. 
  • 8 out of 10 Iowans oppose allowing private corporations to use eminent domain. This opposition crosses party lines. 
  • This is also true amongst voters who are favorable toward current Governor Kim Reynolds. 8 out of 10 of those voters oppose granting eminent domain to pipelines.

Our polling also found that the pipeline fight will affect Iowans’ votes this November. 

  • Nearly 3 out of 4 voters, Democrat and Republican alike, say they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who supported eminent domain for carbon pipelines. 
  • 7 voters out of 10 want their elected officials to prevent carbon pipeline companies from using eminent domain. This holds true across party lines.

So far, our leaders currently in office have ignored the widespread opposition to eminent domain for carbon pipelines. Governor Reynolds, Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver, Senate President Jake Chapman and House Speaker Pat Grassley killed several bills during the 2022 legislative session that would have taken eminent domain for carbon pipelines off the table. 

By the end of the 2022 legislative session, leadership had squashed all attempts at protecting Iowans from corporate abuse of eminent domain. But there is still time to stop these dangerous pipeline schemes. In the upcoming legislative session, we need elected officials who will fight for Iowans, not corporations. 

Representing Iowans Means Voting NO Against Carbon Pipelines

For more than a year, the movement opposing Iowa’s carbon pipelines has grown. Iowans from both sides of the aisle and from all walks of life have united to stop this threat. We have shown up to public meetings, called our representatives and even demonstrated at the governor’s mansion to make our opposition clear. 

This November, we will make our voices heard at the polls. It’s time to vote in representatives who will take our demands seriously. To stop these hazardous carbon pipeline scams, we need a legislature ready to fight for us; a legislature that will end the abuse of eminent domain for private gain.

We’re getting out the vote for legislators who will fight for us.

What’s At Stake In The Midterms: Seven Victories To Build On

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by Mia DiFelice

Heading into the November midterm elections, we need to go all out to elect more and better Democrats. 

On issues that matter most — the climate crisis, access to clean water and a sustainable, just food system — we need bold action. We need a Congress that will take on the fossil fuel industry and big agribusiness. We need representatives who will use their power to bring about meaningful and lasting solutions. 

The current Congress is divided by the narrowest of margins, allowing a few conservative Democrats to dictate the terms of legislation. We have seen what happens when Senators like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema can call the shots on our climate agenda. As it stands, Congress won’t pass the ambitious policies we need to keep our planet livable and support working families.

But even with a narrowly divided Congress and a moderate Democratic president, we’ve made important progress in the last two years. This is a testament to our movements’ organizing efforts and a growing progressive contingent in Congress. 

The victories over the past two years are a starting point. Many have gone under the radar, but they were only possible because of the Democrats in national office. With more and better Democrats, we can achieve even more in the two years ahead.

Here are seven wins we can build on after the midterms:

1. Phasing Out Single-Use Plastics On Public Lands

In June, the Department of Interior issued an order to phase out single-use plastics on public lands by 2032. Plastics are almost entirely derived from fossil fuels and only 10% of all plastics ever made have been recycled.

Plastic trash breaks down in our soils and washes into our waterways, where it pollutes our environment, our food and our bodies. This order is an important step in protecting our national parks and wildlife refuges from toxic plastic pollution.

2. An Unprecedented Deployment of Clean Energy Funds

Under the Defense Production Act, Biden authorized the Department of Energy to grow U.S. production of clean energy technologies. This includes both renewable solar power and conservation technology like heat pumps and insulation. 

Biden’s use of the Defense Production Act signals that the executive branch is finally prepared to treat climate change as it is: an existential threat to be met with a whole-of-government approach. It also recognizes that an energy transition is too dire to leave to private corporations and a wily market.

3. The House Holds Big Oil Accountable For Its Lies

For decades, fossil fuel corporations have grown profits by spreading lies about the climate crisis. But in September 2021, the House Oversight Committee began investigating its history of deceit. 

The Committee, led by Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney and Rep. Ro Khanna, will finally hold the industry accountable for profiting billions of dollars off lies that have kept us dependent on their climate-wrecking products. 

4. A Proposed Methane Rule Tightens Emissions Control

In November 2021, EPA proposed a new Clean Air Act rule to tackle climate pollution from the oil and gas industry. The proposal would restrict emissions of not only new oil and gas projects, but — for the first time ever — existing ones as well. 

The rule especially targets methane emissions, which is integral to fighting climate change. As EPA reports, the methane emitted from our oil and gas industry has a greater climate impact than the emissions of all greenhouse gasses from 164 other countries. Additionally, the rule takes aim at toxic air pollution like volatile organic compounds, which disproportionately sicken low-income communities and communities of color.

5. Biden’s EPA Starts Regulating Toxic PFAS

In 2022, the Biden administration set new advisory levels for several PFAS chemicals. These chemicals are toxic and don’t break down in the environment — yet we have used products with PFAS in them for decades. 

The EPA’s long-awaited advisory levels come closer to the research that shows no level of PFAS are safe. While we have a long road ahead of us to tackle our country’s widespread PFAS problem, the EPA has taken vital first steps.

6. Support For Environmental Justice Communities

The Biden administration has taken several steps to improve funding for environmental justice communities that have been historically excluded from federal assistance. It created the first-ever Environmental Justice Advisory Council and announced the Justice40 initiative, committing 40% of the benefits from federal climate and sustainability programs to EJ communities. 

The administration’s commitments have already led to on-the-ground change. For example, the USDA and EPA are working on new guidance and a pilot for rural wastewater projects. We can push for more and greater programs like these with Democrats in Congress.

7. Executive Action Against Monopolies And Corporate Greed

In 2021, an executive order outlined 70 actions to foster competitive markets. As our sister organization Food & Water Watch reported, the market power held by just a few corporations in our food system enables unjust practices to thrive. But now, the Biden administration is taking aim at this market power with investigations, regulations and legislation.

For example, the USDA recently proposed changes to the Packers and Stockyards Act that would give them more tools to stop abusive practices among meat corporations. These changes would strengthen rural economies, ensure food security and empower family farms.

With Democrats In Office, We Can And Will Win More

Our elected officials have achieved a lot in the past two years, but we have a long road ahead of us. To build on these victories, we need a strong showing in the midterm elections. Across the country, Food & Water Action is mobilizing support for climate champions, building people power behind a livable future for all.

Help us spread the word!