An insightful article on Breitbart from Consumers’ Research discussed ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) policies and how they currently threaten farmers and ranchers in America’s heartland.
ESG Nightmare: The Targeting of Farmers and Ranchers in America’s Heartland | @BreitbartNews
“Americans cannot afford to allow the same ESG regime currently infecting corporate boardrooms to gain purchase on family farms.” – Executive Director @WillHildhttps://t.co/RawgzVVYme
— Consumers' Research (@ConsumersFirst) August 5, 2024
The article highlights how ESG policies, which are a key component of “The Green New Deal,” are pushing for the adoption of “sustainable” practices that are often impractical and expensive for farmers to implement. These ESG policies are being used to restrict farmers’ access to capital and insurance, as many financial institutions and insurers are incorporating ESG factors into their decision-making processes, making it difficult for them to operate their farms unless they comply.
The article argues that ESG policies are part of a larger agenda to control the food supply and promote a “green” economy. It mentions how the World Economic Forum has been pushing for a “Great Reset” that would transform the global economy into one that is more “environmentally-friendly” and how this agenda is being implemented through ESG policies. We have already seen the backlash in the Netherlands, but the ESG chickens are coming home to roost here in America’s heartland.
Now activists and the Biden administration’s Democratic allies in Congress have signaled their intent to impose ESG on America’s agricultural sector by hijacking the 2024 Farm Bill and transforming it into a climate bill. Environmental group Ceres advocates forcing farmers and ranchers into submission by linking compliance with access to crop insurance, a sledgehammer that it euphemistically calls an “incentive.”
Net zero policies and ESG requirements would increase farmer’s costs by at least 25 percent, according to a report from the Buckeye Institute. ESG would attach carbon costs to every agricultural process. Fertilizer costs would jump by 27 percent, the report cites as an example, while grain drying would rise by 38 percent. Overall, 22 percent of American farming families’ expenses would go toward carbon reduction taxes. These higher food production costs will translate into American families paying an additional $1,300 per year, on average, to put food on the table. Injecting ESG into the Farm Bill could also lead food companies to drop domestic suppliers in favor of foreign producers that are not subject to U.S. rules.
In short, ESG threatens to kill American farms and end family legacies in the heartland. It would also erode rural America’s tax base and undermine our nation’s food security. That’s why Consumers’ Research sent a letter to Congress urging lawmakers to keep the “Farm” in the Farm Bill and toss the ESG.
The article urges Congress to make sure that the final version of the Farm Bill does not have any fertilizer mandates that have caused chaos in other countries or electrification directives that would impose crippling costs on farmers who are already struggling to profit.
Will Hild, the author of the aforementioned article, has a lot to say about this issue, and even has a website ESGKillsFarms.com.
It's a fact: ESG kills farms.
Climate extremists, working closely with the Biden Administration and ESG activists on Wall Street (like @BlackRock CEO Larry Fink), are actively driving up the cost of fuel and fertilizer and burying farmers in red tape.https://t.co/BX0q7QE4sk pic.twitter.com/fth21gMXRT
— Will Hild (@WillHild) July 11, 2024
Nebraska state Treasurer John Murante told Breitbart News that pushing the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policy movement “is a real attack on farmers and ranchers in Nebraska.”
Senator Eric Scmhitt says, “ESG investing is nothing but a trojan horse for the Green New Deal, and it harms farmers, ranchers, and energy producers in Missouri.”
Representative Thomas Massie has also been speaking up about the destructive nature of ESG policies.
It’s a cartel. Any one of these companies operating alone with these ESG policies hurtful to consumers would go out of business in a free and open market. https://t.co/6q6gAXFFyj
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) July 30, 2024
It will not only be producers who are affected but also consumers, as the implementation of ESG policies will cause already high grocery bills to skyrocket further.
ESG policies pushing for net-zero emissions in agriculture will destroy farms and raise food prices by 15%. Farmers' costs would go up 34%, and your grocery bills will skyrocket. Is this the future we want?https://t.co/dfCJ13SlfB
— Glenn Hegar (@Glenn_Hegar) July 23, 2024
ESG policies are not only impractical and expensive for farmers, but they also threaten the country’s food security. Demand your state representative to take all ESG policies out of The Farm Bill.