Today’s food systems work for nearly no one. We know that creating an equitable, compassionate food system requires more than just fighting to end factory farming. At Farm Sanctuary, we’re working across movements to “build the good” – just and sustainable food systems that support animals, people, and the planet.

Here’s a look at some of what we accomplished together in 2022!

We are fighting factory farming and the worst harms to animals:

• Led efforts to pass a ban on foie gras through the Rhode Island State House, with only 8 of 76 votes in opposition.
• Participated in a coalition to “Ban the Crates” in New Jersey and advanced legislation through the Senate Environment and Energy Committee. Our bill would end the cruel enclosure of mother pigs and cows during pregnancy.

We are shifting food system resources to support more healthful, equitable, and sustainable food system supply chains:

• Designed and developed federal support for SNAP reform, identifying a Congressional champion and targeting Q1 2023 for introduction – a bill, which, if passed, would support $7.1 billion in plant-based food over 10 years and target health equity.
• Designed municipal bond and social impact bond legislation, which would shift more than $120 billion in federal nutrition assistance and school food spending over 10 years to support just, sustainable, plant-based food system supply chains.
• Designed and collaborated with Sen. Jabari Brisport to introduce New York State legislation to shift $30 million in annual funding away from dairy farmland preservation to support just, sustainable, plant-based farmer opportunities.

We’re meeting people, organizations, and policymakers where they are to maximize impact:

• We were the only farm animal-centered organization participating in Senator Cory Booker’s (D-NJ) working group to end factory farming.
• We were the only animal-centered organization to officially endorse funding for the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, which was led by Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Mike Braun (R-IN) and Representatives Jim McGovern (D-MA) and the late Jackie Walorski (R-IN). Government funding was secured, and the conference was held in September 2022 to address the challenges of “ending hunger, improving nutrition and physical activity, and reducing diet-related diseases and disparities.” This conference was an important step in the national movement to build holistic food system transformation that prioritizes equity and justice.
• Hosted 55 Congressional Staffers and 17 animal, nutrition, sustainability, justice, and farmer opportunity advocates to discuss food policy over vegan food and drinks on Capitol Hill. “Congressional Food System Staffer Appreciation Day” was held in the historic Rayburn House Office Building, one month after the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health.
• Performed outreach to more than 2,000 farmer, worker, environment, health, community, justice, animal, and food practitioners, academics, and organizations to learn and elevate shared priorities.
• Organized support for two Government Accountability Office reports on the intersection of agriculture and the environment, advancing Farm Sanctuary’s supply-chain-wide approach to support progress for farm animals, people, and the planet.
• Met with 40 different Congressional offices to advance the federal legislative agenda.
• Collaborated with high-impact nutrition, agriculture, and sustainability-centered Congressional offices for 2023 in-person event, advancing Farm Sanctuary’s federal legislative agenda to elevate food system transformation and integrate a concern for farm animals.

We participated in six lawsuits, including successful leadership on downed pigs and line speeds litigation as well as a successful settlement governing the USDA’s avian influenza response:

• Animal Welfare Institute and Farm Sanctuary, Inc. v. USDA (2018) – Plaintiffs sued the USDA for failing to proactively disclose records relating to the enforcement of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act. In early 2022, the parties reached a settlement which requires the USDA to post slaughter records on its website. These records routinely expose inhumane treatment of animals at slaughter facilities and are critical for educating the public and holding the agency accountable to enforcing these laws.
• Farm Sanctuary, Inc. et al. v. Vilsack (2020) – Plaintiffs sued the USDA for failing to protect pigs who are too sick or injured to walk at slaughterhouses, known as “downed pigs”. Among other issues, the lawsuit challenges the agency’s failure to follow Congress’s mandates regarding these animals under the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act.
• Farm Sanctuary, Inc., et al. v. USDA (2019) – Plaintiffs sued the USDA challenging, among other issues, the agency’s decision to reduce oversight at pig slaughterhouses, exposing pigs to greater suffering and flouting federal humane slaughter, meat inspection, and environmental protection laws.
• National Pork Producers Council v. Ross, et al. – On the heels of the passage of Proposition 12 in CA, Plaintiffs brought this lawsuit, making a constitutional challenge with regard to Prop 12. Farm Sanctuary is a party to the case as a Defendant Intervenor. The case went before the Supreme Court of the United States on October 11, 2022 and a decision is expected by SCOTUS in the first half of 2023.