OKAgPolicy Today is a morning email containing the day’s top agriculture and policy headlines. The inclusion of a particular story does not equal an endorsement. Subscribe to the email here.
TOP HEADLINES
Oklahoma food stamp dollars doubled at farmers markets:
Welfare recipients in Oklahoma can now double the value of up to $20 of benefits a day by purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables at local farmers markets [AP].
Oklahoma stands to lose plenty with Trump’s trade policies:
In a column last week, Washington Examiner politics editor W. James Antle noted that to win the presidency, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump needs the support of states “where trade deals are a dirty word.” Trump is certainly doing all he can to appeal to them [The Oklahoman].
GMO labeling expected to be debated Wednesday:
The Senate is expected to vote Wednesday afternoon to limit debate on the GMO labeling compromise reached by Senate Agriculture Committee chairman Pat Roberts and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow [Farm Futures].
Six consequences for consumers of labeling GMOs:
In Vermont, GMO labeling legislation took effect on July 1, and we are already beginning to see the reactions by food producers and distributors. We don’t have any data yet on how consumers respond but we can examine what the companies are doing at this point. Every tidbit so far has been an example of “told you so” [Genetic Literacy Project].
Agriculture community also affected by oil and gas slowdown:
Farmers and ranchers often use oil and gas royalties as fallback money when things go wrong, like during natural disasters or when commodity prices fall. But when the royalties are low and commodity prices are low, like now, when they’re both at their lowest in 10 years, that can cause significant struggles [Greeley Tribune].
Divided America: Town and country offer differing realities:
There are few divides in the United States greater than that between rural and urban places. Town and country represent not just the poles of the nation’s two political parties, but different economic realities that are transforming the 2016 presidential election [AP].
No TPP trade deal? Japanese farmers say all the better for them:
Rice farmer Takao Terada isn’t following the U.S. presidential election too closely. But there’s one issue that both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton seem to agree on — that the U.S. should not ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact — and that’s music to his ears [LA Times].
Do U.S. food subsidies make people fat?:
Researchers say they have turned up more evidence that U.S. government policies that subsidize foods such as meat, cheese and corn are helping make Americans fatter and unhealthier [NBC News].
