According to a recent Politico tip sheet, a bipartisan group of more than 60 lawmakers is asking the United States Department of Agriculture to provide emergency financial assistance to the dairy industry.
A 2013 report by the USDA found that dairy consumption has been on the decline for decades. In fact, it has fallen a whopping 40 percent since 1970, with each generation consuming less milk than the one before.
Now dairy farmers nationwide are complaining that they are unable to sell their product and are asking lawmakers to help bail them out.
In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, 60 congressmen, including Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Reps. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), stated:
We encourage USDA to take any and all actions available in order to make an immediate market injection and offer financial assistance that will directly support U.S. dairy farmers equally, while being cautious to not stimulate overproduction further.
It’s time Washington politicians woke up and saw that Americans are fed up with dairy—it’s bad enough that American tax dollars are spent to subsidize factory farming. Rather than protect an industry that abuses animals, destroys our environment, and sickens the public, they should support projects that better our country.
Thankfully, you can take action yourself by switching to a compassionate vegan diet and urging your state representatives to support legislation that protects animals.
