President Trump and his Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, each took time to respond to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s survey on agriculture issues.
Question from the American Farm Bureau Federation: Protecting farmers’ access to modern farming technology, veterinary medications and crop protection tools is important for farmers and ranchers. Our future food security will depend on science, technology and innovation to increase efficiency, adapt to droughts and fight plant diseases. Agricultural biotechnology and other new crop development techniques will prove vital. As president, how would you ensure that new traits are reviewed expeditiously, that USDA’s GMO disclosure rules are focused on science, and that solutions from science and technology are harnessed to meet the challenge of feeding a growing world?
Trump: President Trump will continue to make regulatory decisions, including biotechnology approvals based upon the very best available scientific data. President Trump will never regulate farmers based upon some hot trend on social media and he will continue to insist that our trading partners adopt these same rules in order to do business with the U.S.
The Trump/Pence Administration strongly supports ag biotechnology and the use more broadly of technology in the agriculture and food industry. Combining ag biotechnology with increased data will be the basis of the next “Green Revolution” in agriculture. Contrast that with a Biden Administration who will side with environmental activists to reduce access to key chemicals, biotech seeds, and other types of technology that are critical to the future success for our Nation’s farmers and ranchers. The Trump/Pence Administration supports innovation, technology and improved data to help farmers lower their costs, increase their revenue and enhance their profitability.
The Trump/Pence Administration oversaw the writing of the regulations to implement the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Act which provides farmers much needed access to ag biotechnology while providing consumers information about the food they eat.
Biden: Our country’s agricultural sector features the most productive, innovative farmers and scientists in the world. Undertaking continued investment in innovation and technological advances will allow our farmers and ranchers to remain world leaders in agricultural production, benefitting workers, businesses, consumers, and exporters alike--and our administration commits to supporting the research and technological development necessary to achieve this. In addition, in leadership roles across our administration, we will appoint officials who value and invoke scientific evidence to guide decision making and the regulatory process, as opposed to using their positions to score political points or to profit personally.
You can see each candidates answers to other agriculture-related questions below:
Food System Resiliency
Farm Policy Programs
International Trade
Tax Policy
Energy
Regulatory Reform
Endangered Species Act
Clean Water
Biotechnology
Rural Life and Health
Agricultural Labor
Sustainability and Climate Change