Actress urges USDA to fund plant-based ag

Alicia Silverstone released a video with Mercy for Animals

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

A Hollywood actress is urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to change how it supports producers.

Alicia Silverstone, in partnership with Mercy for Animals, is calling on the USDA to help livestock, poultry and dairy farmers transition to plant-based protein production.

COVID-19 has caused numerous challenges in the ag industry. Meat processors, for example, have scaled back production to help ensure employee safety.

These measures have created backlogs on farms and, in some cases, necessitated the euthanization of livestock.

The federal government has announced the investment of billions of dollars to help producers and processors navigate these unprecedented challenges.

But the USDA should invest in alternative proteins instead, Silverstone says.

“We need to use taxpayer dollars to transition away from this cruel system and instead help farmers transition to growing plant-based foods,” she says in the video.

Farms.com has reached out to industry groups for comment.

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