Other companies like Indigo Ag have similar models. For instance, Bayer’s Carbon Initiative will pay farmers for carbon sequestration under the condition that farmers use their proprietary seeds and chemicals and hand over tremendous amounts of extremely valuable farm data. Companies like Bayer and Syngenta are poised to further entrench their market dominance while perpetuating chemical intensive agriculture and control of our food system by offering technical assistance and technologies to track farmers’ carbon sequestration. Why are these big players coming on board now? A handful of large agrichemical and seed giants stand to profit from soil carbon market schemes regardless of how financially successful the markets are themselves. Who stands to lose if the bill passes? Family farmers, communities of color, and the environment, as demonstrated by the over 222 organizations that are opposing it.Īnother example of mega-corporations backing agricultural carbon markets is the Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance, which pushes soil carbon markets as a climate “solution.” Tellingly, despite years of resisting taking action on climate change, large agricultural players like the Farm Bureau and major food and agriculture companies find the Alliance’s approach palatable. Department of Agriculture (USDA) a major role in promoting soil carbon markets. Corporations, including pesticide giants like Bayer and Syngenta and agribusinesses like ADM and Cargill, are backing the Growing Climate Solutions Act, a bill that would give the U.S. So, why is the Biden administration digging in the dustbin of failed climate policy? A quick look at some of the strongest proponents of this approach reveals who stands to win. These are dangerous and costly distractions from proven policies and practices that have the ability to shift agriculture from being a leading contributor to climate chaos to being a major solution to the crisis.Īgricultural carbon markets will primarily benefit agribusiness – and won’t workĬarbon markets have a decade-long track record of failing to stem greenhouse gas emissions, while harming Black and brown communities. ![]() Two central pillars of their approach, support for agriculture carbon markets and subsidies for polluting factory farms, will exacerbate concentration in the industrial agriculture sector, while increasing pollution in low-wealth communities, especially communities of color. ![]() When it comes to addressing agriculture and climate, the Biden Administration and Congress are going down a dangerous path that threatens to benefit the most polluting farm operations while failing to meaningfully address the climate crisis.
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