Institute for Agriculture and Trade PolicyOpinion

Farming in the Dark: Unreliable USDA data jeopardizes a sustainable farming transition

In today’s analytics-driven world, it rarely feels like a lack of data is a concern. And yet, as farmers struggle to adjust ...
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy

Mandatory COOL: A push for greater transparency in our food system

As part of our advocacy around the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USCMA) review, IATP has joined with 37 U.S. family farm, consumer, and worker organizations in a letter submitted on March 11 calling ...
IATP

The impact of California’s new climate accountability laws on food and agriculture companies

Two new groundbreaking California laws will require companies doing business in California, including food and agriculture companies, to report their annual greenhouse gas emissions, climate-related ...
IATP

New research shows 50 year binge on chemical fertilisers must end to address the climate crisis

The rising costs of synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilisers, triggered by a spike in natural gas prices, has governments panicking about a catastrophic global food crisis. At the same time, new research ...
IATP

USDA’s new Regenerative Agriculture Initiative: A step forward or greenwashing?

In late 2025, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), along with the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the launch of a Regenerative Agriculture Pilot ...
IATP

2023 Annual Report

Read IATP's 2023 annual report. Download a PDF of the report here.
IATP

The New Farm Bill: In the face of farm crisis, this bill offers status quo and empty promises

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy has released the following statement from Michael Happ, Program Associate for Climate and Rural Communities, in response to the Farm, Food, and National ...
IATP

Flying Under the Radar: Gaps in satellite detection of factory farm methane emissions

Methane is a greenhouse gas (GHG) that is approximately 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. The livestock sector is the largest contributor to global methane emissions, ...
IATP

Agroecology Meets the Care Economy: Bridging feminist economics and healthy food systems

Our food and agriculture systems are in deep trouble. The EAT-Lancet Commission reports that food is a major driver of environmental degradation, responsible for a dominant share of the harm in five ...
IATP

Open letter to Irish leaders to reduce methane pollution for just transition in agri-food sector

Ireland is finalizing its climate protection targets to the year 2040. Rather than face that challenge directly, the Irish government is considering embracing a “no additional warming” approach to ...
IATP

Is the deal with China an agreement or a handshake?

Earlier this month, the Trump administration announced a deal with China that would open up trade on precious minerals, lower tariffs, and increase agricultural purchases. Like most of the Trump ...
IATP

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT): Punta del Este Declaration

Ministers, meeting on the occasion of the Special Session of the CONTRACTING PARTIES at Punta del Este, have decided to launch Multilateral Trade Negotiations (The Uruguay Round). To this end, they ...