For the better part of a century, the U.S. Farm Bill has protected billionaire-backed sugar companies at the expense of clean air and water in Florida.
We have an opportunity to change that now — with your help. Join the movement demanding an end to sugar handouts in the Farm Bill by signing the Sugar Reform Now petition!
How does the sugar program negatively impact us?
- Through price supports and strict import limits on sugar, consumers and taxpayers pay more — while sugar barons get richer. Windfall profits generated by the sugarcane industry, led by Florida Crystals and U.S. Sugar, are then used to buy influence over lawmakers.
- This protects the status quo that forces South Florida taxpayers to foot the bill to clean polluted water from sugarcane fields south of Lake Okeechobee.
- The same status quo contributes to the recurring toxic-algae crisis in Lake Okeechobee and its connected estuaries, due to the stranglehold sugarcane lobbyists have on water policy.
- People who live near sugarcane fields in the Everglades Agricultural Area suffer some of the worst smoke pollution in the country due to pre-harvest cane burning.
It’s time to stop sugar’s cycle of abuse that’s perpetuated every five years, when the Farm Bill is renewed by Congress.
By signing the Sugar Reform Now petition, you can help right these wrongs. Tell Congress it’s time to end the outdated, overly generous protections for the sugar industry in the Farm Bill.
The current Farm Bill expires Sept. 30, so act soon.
To make the strongest impact, please share this petition.
