Policy Updates and Issue News September 2019

So We Can Eat Red Meat?

A large group of international researchers say yes in a paper published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.  The international collaboration of experts says evidence that red meat causes cancer and heart disease is weak at best.  The new analyses are among the largest evaluations ever attempted and may influence future dietary recommendations.  The analyses raise questions about the longstanding dietary guidelines urging people to eat less red meat.  “The guidelines are based on papers that presumably say there is evidence for what they say, and there isn’t,” says Dennis Bier, director of the Children’s Nutrition Research center at Baylor College of Medicine.  The American Heart Association, American Cancer Society and T.H.Chan School of Public Health at Harvard have expressed criticism of the new analyses.  On a cautionary note, some dietary advocates are bringing climate change and environmental concerns into the diet and health debate.  These are two entirely separate issues.

What Should Young Children Drink?

 A consensus of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Heart Association says plain unflavored, unsweetened, uncarbonated drinking water is the best way to quench a child’s thirst (sounds like your grandmother’s advice?).  Sugary drinks, diet drinks and plant-based toddler milk should be avoided.  Children 12-24 months old should be introduced to plain pasteurized whole milk they say.

What About That Plant-Based Burger?

In what could be called a classic “me too” marketing case study, restaurants, fast food chains, branded food companies  and grocery stores are jumping on the meatless meat bandwagon.   Plant-based eating, however, may not mean vegetables, fruits, chick peas and nuts as we have long presumed.   Food manufacturers are developing ultra-processed burgers out of pea or soy protein, methylcellulose and maltodextrin, and liquid “eggs” out of mung bean protein isolate and gellan gum.  With almost everyone in the food industry jumping into the market at once, this will be a good test of sustainable consumer demand.

Food Insecurity Drops

Defined as those who “had difficulty at some time during the year providing enough food for all members of their families due to lack of resources,” food insecure households have declined to prerecession levels, according to USDA’s Economic Research Service.  The decline from a high of 14.9% in 2011 to 11.1% in 2018 is good news.  Most food insecure households surveyed had recently participated in federal nutrition assistance programs like SNAP, WIC, and the National School Lunch Program.

EPA and Corps Scrap WOTUS Rule

The EPA and Corps of Engineers are formally repealing the 2015 Waters of the U.S. rule in advance of publishing a new WOTUS rule in a few months.  This action makes pre-2015 Clean Water Act regulations the law of the land.  This is welcome news for farmers, ranchers, landowners and local government jurisdictions.  Post 2015 WOTUS regulations greatly overstepped the authority of the Clean Water Act according to several court rulings.

Grange Urges Ag Research Support

The National Grange, together with a huge number of agriculture, food and supplier groups, asked leaders of the Senate appropriations committees and subcommittees to support and fund the America Grows Act sponsored by Illinois Senator Durban.  The Act authorizes a five percent inflation- adjusted annual increase for research to keep our nation a world leader in food and agricultural science.

Rural Hospitals in Trouble

Rural America is facing an access-to-health-care crisis: 113 rural hospitals have closed since 2010. This alert was conveyed to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Grassley and Ranking Member Wyden by the National Grange and members of the Rebuild Rural Coalition.  The coalition urged the leaders to adopt policies to stop payment cuts such as Medicare sequestration cuts and bad-debt cuts, and to invest in sustainable new delivery models which give local communities flexibility to meet the needs of their unique rural community.  The coalition stressed that rural broadband infrastructure is a must for future rural health care.

Excise Tax Hurts Medical Device Innovation

The National Grange joined a large group of innovators and patient groups on a letter to Senate and House leaders requesting Congress to permanently repeal excise taxes on medical devices before the current suspension expires on December 31, 2019. Prior to suspension, the medical device tax had a devastating effect on device R&D the three years it was in effect.

Congress and White House Focus on Drug Price Legislation

The price of prescription drugs las long been a growing concern of patients, particularly those on high cost specialty drugs.  Now the House, the Senate and the President have elevated drug prices to a public policy priority.   The Senate Finance Committee passed a bipartisan package in July without the support of a majority of Republicans on the committee.  Speaker Pelosi and the House leadership introduced a sweeping partisan legislative package, H.R. 3, on September 9.  President Trump says he wants to see drug prices drop at the pharmacy counter and is focusing on numerous administrative changes to be undertaken by HHS.   Drug pricing is a confusing process and the chain between manufacturer and patient has become complicated.  As Washington works through the drug pricing dilemma, the National Grange will continue to sort the good, the bad and the ugly of the various proposals with the patient in mind.

The Labor Department has taken steps to administratively streamline the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program.  A new rule eliminates the requirement to advertise job openings in print newspapers and shifts to advertising on DOL and state workforce agency websites.   A second DOL action will update and simplify H-2A forms and its online filing process.

Rural Areas Still Need Satellite TV

In rural America, 870,000 households still rely on satellite to access basic broadcast programming in places where over-the-air signals can’t reach.  The National Grange sent a formal letter to the committees of jurisdiction on the Hill to request congressional action to reauthorize the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (STELAR) before it expires on December 31, 2019.  STELAR calls for good-faith negotiations between broadcasters and satellite providers to prevent customers from experiencing programming “blackouts”.

Rural Broadband Needs Mixed Technology

The Des Moines Register featured an article by National Grange president Betsy Huber reiterating that over 19 million Americans lack access to broadband and many more cannot access the internet at today’s broadband speeds.  Earlier this year, the Federal Communications Commission took a strong step toward removing regulatory barriers to wider deployment of TV White Spaces in rural areas.  “The National Grange supports a mixed technology model to eliminate the rural broadband gap.  Our goal is to build connected farms of the future,” Huber says.

Japanese Trade Deal Good for Agriculture

American agricultural products are among the biggest beneficiaries of United States-Japan Trade Agreement signed on September 25 which goes into effect January 1.  Japan agreed to cut or eliminate tariffs on $7.2 billion worth of ag commodities and raise new quota levels for more.  National Grange president Betsy Huber issued a statement calling the agreement a big win for agriculture producers, and “It will give farmers and ranchers more access to our country’s third largest food and agricultural export market.”

USMCA Gains Traction

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement is gaining political ground in Washington.  House Speaker Pelosi appointed a group of House Democrats who have been meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Lighthizer to resolve labor and environmental differences with Mexico and pharmaceutical patent concerns with both countries.  All former U.S. Secretaries of Agriculture since the Reagan Administration – Block, Espy, Glickman, Veneman, Johanns, Schafer, Vilsack – announced strong support for USMCA in a press conference and with a letter to congressional leaders.

Tariff War with China Continues

The U.S. and China remain at loggerheads over intellectual property rights, technology concerns and trade imbalances.  Tariff escalation continues on both sides.  In the meantime, China is buying large amounts of American ag commodities and has committed to buy more.  Talks between the two countries broke off this summer but are scheduled to resume in early October.

The current definition of an agricultural commodity has become an issue in drafting new hours of service regulations for truckers.  Agriculture commerce has changed over the years and the definitions of ag commodities have not kept pace.  The National Grange joined state and national commodity groups and trucking associations in official comments to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration suggesting workable definitions for commodities and livestock in transit under new hours of service rules.