Farming

The food we produce and the way we produce it has profound effects—good or bad—on our health, quality of life and the environment. On these pages you will learn what EWG is doing to protect your health and environment while ensuring a sustainable future for America’s working farms and ranches.
Conservation

Farmers can do more than producing food and fiber. They can also produce clean air, clean water, and abundant habitat for wildlife. But farm policies are doing too little to reward good stewardship and too much to underwrite unsustainable crop and animal production by the largest and most successful farm businesses.
Subsidies

EWG’s renowned farm subsidy database reveals that taxpayer support goes mostly to large, profitable operations, not to sustainable family farms that truly need the help. We’re working to change a badly broken system.
Food

Food should be good for you. But some foods aren’t. Pesticides are sprayed on millions of acres every year and some of them end up on your food. Our broken farm subsidy system encourages over production of the wrong food. EWG is pushing for better policy and more sustainable ways of farming that produce healthy food in a healthy environment.
Water

Nothing is more important to your health and quality of life than safe drinking water and clean streams and lakes. Across the country, pollution from farms is one of the primary reasons water is no longer clean or safe. Agriculture is the leading source of pollution of rivers and streams surveyed by U.S. government experts, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Thankfully, if we make simple changes in the way we farm, we can take a big step toward clean water.

Our Most Recent Stories

EWG keeps you up to date with analysis of the latest news, interviews with experts and more.

Senate Farm Bill Amendment Would Rein in Crop Insurance Subsidies for the Rich

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

A new amendment to the Senate farm bill that limits crop insurance subsidies for the wealthiest farmers would save taxpayers more than $490 million dollars over the next 10 years.

A Tale of Two Farm Bills

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

The two farm bills being debated by the House and Senate this month could not be more different.

The Greenest Farm Bill Ever?

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Almost a year ago, we identified six steps Congress could take to address the serious public health threats posed by farm pollution.

Since then, the pollution problems posed by agriculture – including the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico and a massive algal bloom in Lake Erie – have only gotten worse. Recent EWG analysis shows just how prevalent toxic algae blooms have become.

Nearly 28,000 Farmers Got USDA Payments for 32 Straight Years, Worth $19 Billion Total

Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Almost 28,000 U.S. farmers received taxpayer-funded federal farm subsidies or disaster relief payments for 32 straight years, according to a new EWG analysis of data from the Department of Agriculture. These recipients took in a total of more than $19 billion.