If you thought Project 2025 was just a political roadmap for whenever the next Republican president comes into office, you would be partially right. It is also a dystopian plan that MAGA Republicans have for fighting imaginary “leftist” foes such as those who work in the agriculture sector, work for a healthy environment, or in general, are the poor or rural people of this country. Clearly, I am not writing to change anyone’s views, but do want to explain how the implementation of Project 2025 will negatively affect various aspects of food.
I am not a government policy expert, just a knowledgable cook. And, I have to admit, this is by far the lengthiest, as well as the most political post I have ever written. But then, Project 2025 is inherently a complicated and highly political publication driven by culture-war politics. It is worthy of serious review and comment, which I am attempting to do here. Plus, before you ask, yes I have read all the posts linked to in this document, plus relevant sections of the Project 2025 book itself.
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Republican’s Project 2025
Project 2025 Context
Project 2025: Presidential Transition Project (Project 2025) was published on the web in April 2023. It was written as a Presidential political roadmap, detailing a MAGA Republican wish-list of governmental changes in structure, policies, and employees. It was produced by a 50-year old conservative think-tank, the Heritage Foundation (THF). Since 2021, its current President, Kevin D. Roberts, has supported changing the once conservative think-tank into a self-identified anti-democratic (1), anti-egalitarian (2), minority (i.e., Republican) rule (3), supporter of MAGA and Mr. Trump. Roberts has, in fact, stated his wish to institutionalize Trumpism.
Project 2025 is a document with historical context, and was initially conceived in 1981 by THF as a way to assist newly elected Republican President Reagan (CBS) with a focus on policies and potential employees. At that time it was called Mandate for Leadership. Later, in 2015, another version was created to assist the newly elected President Trump. In 2017, considering their efforts successful, THF touted that Trump had instituted 64% of its policy recommendations (CBS). Today, Project 2025 is understood as a way to usher in a sweeping overhaul of the federal government (CBS) and to rescue the country from the grip of the radical Left (Forbes).
Despite claiming “no knowledge” of the plan, which is a comment few believe (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10), Republican nominee Trump cannot sidestep that the policy proposal was crafted with the direct support and help of ~140 of Trump’s people, according to CNN, who plan on being in the new administration to help implement those plans (11). In addition, Donald Trump’s name and references to his administration are mentioned ~310 times in the Project 2025 document, according to Yahoo news.
Characterization of Project 2025 Supporters
Unfortunately, most Americans cannot and do not understand or appreciate what a de-evolution into authoritarianism looks like in real life (a, b). Unlike much of the rest of the world, who have lived through similar dangerous times, America is young and ahistorical in its general understanding. In fact, we are slipping into authoritarianism right now, and let’s start by first looking at the numbers of who Project 2025 is speaking to directly.
- I use some strong words in this section, but have been careful to not call anyone names so much as point out people’s self-identification, or their acceptance of these words as describing themselves. Some are people who do not self-label, may support policies that are in-line with these terms.
Project 2025 is clearly a document created by self-described “conservatives” and Republicans. The NYT writes, Project 2025 was spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation and like-minded conservative groups before Mr. Trump officially entered the 2024 race. The Heritage Foundation is a think tank that has shaped the personnel and policies of Republican administrations since the Reagan presidency.
Project 2025 is supported by a combination of ~110 organizations and individual people who self-identify as MAGA, Tea Party, or Nazis, and racists, homophobes, and misogynists. The funding for Project 2025 includes well known Republican, right-wing, and evangelical or conservative religious organizations and people, and also seven organizations identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as hate or extremist groups. The NYMag writes, these people are also the base supporters of Trump.
- The fulcrum reports: Project 2025’s two editors were assisted by 34 authors, 277 contributors, a 54-member advisory board, and a coalition of over 100 conservative organizations.
- Supporting organizations include: ALEC, The Heartland Institute, Liberty University, Middle East Forum, Moms for Liberty, the NRA, Pro-Life America, the Tea Party Patriots, Dr. James Dobson Family Institute, Turning Point USA, Family Research Council, The American Redistricting Project, Concerned Women of America, Eagle Forum, etc.
- OpenSecrets reports that many state Republican Party organizations financially support THF, and so has Trump and other politicians.
- The MichiganAdvance adds these funders included: Charles Koch + Leonard Leo (who also funded expensive vacations of Supreme Court justices).
Project 2025 is supported by Christian Nationalists. Christian nationalism is a belief that the USA was founded as a white, male, Christian nation, and that there is no separation between church and state. This concept is gaining steam on the right, as shown by Republican’s Speaker Mike Johnson, and Representatives Josh Hawley and Marjorie Taylor Green.
To learn more about this, Salon has a post that describes in detail the relationship of this movement and Project 2025 from the perspective of someone who was once a part of that movement. Andra Watkins wrote that Project 2025 is a Republican Christo-fascist manifesto, and that its leaders call for the overthrow of American democracy. Later the author writes that we should take Project 2025 seriously, it is not hyperbole. Project 2025 is their playbook. They are engaged in Christian warfare, and they will not compromise their positions. Democracy will be replaced with theocracy.
Project 2025 embraces a plan that rigs the rules in favor of minority authoritarian rule. Vox details that this phrase may not go far enough, and states the GOP has become an authoritarian party pushing an authoritarian policy agenda. Project 2025 documents the steps for all to see if they choose. Republicans are well aware they do not hold the majority in terms of population, thus they propose policies that limit voting, rig districts, and do what they can to support their candidates.
How Many People Support MAGA Republicans
In 2022, WaPo attempted to figure out how many actual MAGA believers existed in the USA. They looked at a variety of political stances MAGA people tend to believe, and using various surveys it turned out the average percentage of the MAGA true believers, as defined by actual support of policies, was ~10% of USA’s population, but reporters seemed to have settled on a higher generic 15% of voters. So let us agree, and say 10-15% of the American population agrees with MAGA and THF policies.
In terms of voting, in 2016 Trump received ~62.9M votes, or 46.1% of the population. Then, in 2020 Trump received ~74M votes or 47% of the population. Let us use the higher number, which means that ~47% of American voters support what MAGA stands for and are, perhaps unwittingly or intentionally, supportive of MAGA and Mr. Trump.
All I can glean from these numbers is that the true believers, who would support these policies, might be 10-15%, but people who vote for MAGA candidates, and thus indirectly support these policies, is at 47%. The PEW Research organization suggests 32% of the population as an average, which is a number Heather Cox Richardson uses.
So bottom line, there are a lot of people in the USA who have allowed themselves to be convinced that anti-constitutional acts are patriotic, and anti-democracy is constitutional. Many legal experts and analysts (12, 13, 14) have written that Project 2025 would undermine the rule of law, destroy the separation of powers, remove the separation of church and state, and end civil liberties. Some would call this a realization of the book 1984; a book many of these same MAGA supporters have attempted to get banned across the nation.
Most unfortunate of all, according to a survey of 5,000 U.S. farmers by the Farm Journal, 85% reported they would vote for Trump to be elected to a second term in November, while 12% would vote for Joe Biden, and the rest were undecided. Thus showing clearly, people are gullible, and do not tend to vote rationally, nor in their self-interest.
Characterization by Non Supporters
Now who is Project 2025 not speaking to, and what are their reactions?
- This plan is not addressing the needs of: women, children, youth or elder people, families, immigrants, farmers or ranchers, rural communities, non-Christian religious people, gay people, progressives, environmentalists, academia, people of color, Indigenous people, medical people, etc. In other words, the citizenry of the USA.
- In fact, the majority of the USA voting population does not express support for MAGA or its plans. RawStory writes that the more Americans learn about the Heritage Foundation’s authoritarian Project 2025 initiative, the more they dislike it.
- Based on surveys (15, 16), the policies stated in Project 2025 would be considered anti-democratic, anti-liberty, anti-environment, and anti-religious freedom by the majority.
- Many see Project 2025 as the realization of the Handmaids Tale (a, b, c, d).
- Many people have written that they consider Project 2025 a litany of terrible ideas (17), while others consider it authoritarian (18, 19) or a formalization of the Christian Nationalism Movement (20, 21); some say it is purely anti-democratic, anti-constitution, and a right-wing fantasy that is a threat to the country (22).
Project 2025 is full of name calling, calls to violence, fear-mongering, and religious doctrine; all of which help to create a document that is full of fallacies, contradictions, and outright misdirections. But it is also a clear “call to arms” for a minority segment of the American population who have always been this way, and yet should be taken seriously.
Project 2025’s Effects on Food
MidasTouch, on 13 July 2024 published recordings of THF President Roberts claiming that Project 2025 has been “mischaracterized” in the media, and leftists have demonized the document. As I have read sections of the report that are related to this post, I can confirm there is little that has been reported on these topics that is not truthful, I am myself reporting on the ramifications of their suggested policies that come directly from their book.
Project 2025 has chapters or sections that I discuss here: the USDA or Department of Agriculture (USDA), the EPA or Environmental Protection Agency (23), NOAA or National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (24), the FDA or US Food and Drug Agency, and even has a couple of paragraphs on “Rural Communities”. Miscellaneous items were gleaned from a variety of other sections.
Department of Agriculture (USDA)
What does USDA do: The USDA provides leadership and oversight on food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, nutrition, and related issues based on public policy, the best available science, and effective management.
Project 2025 wants to remove the USDA’s role in food (meat and poultry) safety inspections, and move it to the states. Currently 29 states have their own inspections, and that meat can only be sold within the state, to go across state lines requires a USDA inspection. I do not like state inspections for I do not believe it is a safe practice, the main reason being that state inspectors would be under much more direct personal pressure from politicians and business owners to approve meat, even if the facility or meat were not up to par.
As waters off the Florida coast, noted the Guardian, reached levels of heat more commonly found in hot tubs (not so great for fish farms or fishing), Project 2025 proposed to remove all mentions of the issues of climate change and equity as part of the USDA’s mission statement. From that little change to the mission statement, the plan is to stop all talk or data collecting related to climate change, disregard farming’s effect on climate change, or climate change’s effect on farming. Then stop promoting organic farming (25), stop promoting farms among people of color and youth, and stop all international promotions including working with the UN.
Project 2025 will further reduce the authority of scientists and scholars knowledgeable in their fields, and elevates everyone’s comments during agricultural reviews on equal standing. We have seen that this anti-intellectual, mis-information, anti-science thought has brought about dangerous events, sometimes leading to death, such as how anti-vaccine rhetoric during the COVID pandemic led to many deaths due to lower vaccination rates. A study reported ~232k deaths could have been prevented among unvaccinated adults during the 15 months (May 30, 2021 to September 3, 2022) had they been vaccinated with at least a primary series.
Project 2025 will eliminate USDA regulations, prevent working with UN on sustainability, and remove farmer’s financial safety net. But there is more, nearly all sections of Project 2025 have actions that will negatively affect the environment, farming, human health, and access to nutritious food and clean water. In short, Salon states, Project 2025 seeks to eliminate virtually all USDA regulations on farms so they can produce as much as possible, for as cheap as possible, regardless of the consequences.
- But we are not speaking of small family farms here, think about the large agri-businesses; these large businesses already do “what they want”, and that attitude has lead to terrible outcomes. One example is the dumping of animal waste in our waterways and other sensitive environments, which has negatively affected drinking water and human health, etc.
It describes reducing free and discounted student lunch programs and limiting access to food assistance (SNAP and WIC). An average of >40 million people, in 21.6 million households rely on monthly food support, and this number is growing faster in rural communities than urban. Project 2025 would reshape and reduce the number of people (mainly children) supported by adding stringent and reductive guides for access to this help (26). For instance, it expresses support for reducing regulations on baby formula (for labeling and formulas),
- States with Republican governors tend to already refuse federal funding to assist the poor with food. WaPo shares the story of one family in Oklahoma who relies on free lunch at school (which stops in summer), and the local food pantry because the state (and 18 other states) refuses to accept federal assistance; even though 200k children in that state are food insecure at any given time.
- For more information on food assistance, see the Pew Research Center’s briefing.
Worryingly, Project 2025 removes obstacles to agricultural biotechnology including removing federally mandated food labeling (27), which may include the ingredients label, and reducing or removing GMO approval processes and labeling prior to selling the food to the general public. There is some indication that data about the food might be hidden, so places like the EU, who regulate GMO food, would then be unable to properly label food to warn consumers of the GMO content.
The Progressive Farmer details that Project 2025 calls for ending associations with the UN and any other efforts to push sustainable-development schemes connected to food production. The project also wants to remove the Natural Resources Conservation Service from holding food producers to wetlands compliance. And, it calls for repealing the dietary guidelines.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
What does EPA do: The EPA works to ensure that our air, land, and waters are clean; protects human health and the environment fairly; is a steward for our environment; assesses and oversees the cleaning of contaminated lands and toxic sites; reviews chemicals and pesticides for safety; and provides accurate data on relevant topics and in environmental policy.
Project 2025 proposes gutting the EPA, which is responsible for the protection of human health and the environment. It does so by regulating waterways and water treatments, air and toxins, pesticides and chemicals, PFAS chemicals (a.k.a. “Forever chemicals”) (28, 29), among all the other things it is charged with overseeing. Additionally, Project 2025 would reduce barriers to pesticide approval and review processes, making data and research less transparent, and increasing the speed of approvals, putting pesticides on the market that might not be safe.
It would reduce the Office of Water’s ability to enforce water and wastewater regulations on private property. This would reduce the ability to clean up waterways and would halt the reduction of water borne pollution, and might curtail cleaning up after waste spills. This would give free rein to polluters. Project 2025 also proposes reducing the support given to farmers that set aside land for environmental reasons, such as to save special habitats for endangered species.
National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Against a global backdrop of floods and record-breaking heat, Project 2025 plans to breakup NOAA, an agency that follows storms and hurricanes, ocean temperatures, and other items that happen to also provide information and fundamental data on climate change (30, 31). But NOAA also informs weather forecasters, FEMA and other more local emergency response agencies about weather catastrophes. In the effort to deny climate change, Project 2025 will consider endangering peoples very lives and properties by requiring the commercializing of that operations (32).
USA Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
What does FDA do: The FDA is responsible for protecting the public health by ensuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, and medical devices; and by ensuring the safety of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation.
The FDA, among others mentioned above, is slated for elimination. This agency is critical for food in that its regulatory requirements address the safety, nutritional adequacy, packaging, and labeling of baby formula products. It provides alerts, advisories, and safety information on outbreaks like the Avian Flue, food recalls, and assuring food safety. The FDA regulates food ingredient labeling, GMO labeling, monitors chemical contamination of foods, and evaluates and advises on supplements. They regulate many more items in use everyday such as medical devices, drugs, radiation emitting products, cosmetics, tobacco, drugs, vaccines, blood, and biological.
Other Impactful Ideas
Project 2025 proposes demolishing the current immigration-related organization and reinstates previous immigration polices while tightening the southern border, allowing few into the country. We already know from Florida’s (33) extreme stances on immigration, that these ideas have caused real hardship for farmers by preventing the hiring of farm hands to work the fields and processing plants (as well as construction, landscaping, and other businesses).
Another of the changes involves removing the Department of Education. By doing this we will see a repeat of the effect on education experienced over the 2020 COVID Pandemic (34, 35). A terrible educational loss among our young, which will lead to a drop in knowledgeable people required to deal with the science and analytical thinking about food, food safety, and food regulations (as well as every other industry).
Project 2025 wants to eliminate or outsource many government departments or sub-agencies. It begs the question, who do you trust to keep your health and welfare in mind when making decisions, a governmental agency or a for-profit business owner?
Project 2025 also urges consideration of outsourcing the functions of government, including the Energy Information Administration (EIA), defined as a small statistical agency charged with gathering and analyzing data regarding U.S. energy systems (36). These data are vital to our national electrical grid, renewable energies, oil and gas drilling, and all other related energy systems used by agriculture. The intent, it seems, is to curtail the move from fossils fuels to renewable energy by stopping the collection of all related data.
In addition, where it can, proposals were made to deregulate business.
A long held Republican desire to eliminate unions and worker protections is part of Project 2025. I have written about using children in meat packing plants, the awful reactions to COVID by big agricultural businesses, and have noted the issues specifics to farm workers. But also, it wants to remove overtime pay.
End Climate Change programs and end energy efficiency standards for appliances (37, 38). To quote WBUR Project 2025: calls for loosening existing fuel economy standards, weakening the Endangered Species Act, expanding oil and gas drilling in the Arctic, eliminating appliance efficiency standards and fast-tracking environmental approvals for natural gas infrastructure. Project 2025 plans to eliminate, or limit, appliance efficiency standards for air conditioners, furnaces, water heaters, stoves, clothes washers and dryers, refrigerators, dishwashers, light bulbs, and showerheads.
Project 2025 proposes cutting Social Security and other safety systems. Their document states Republicans are trying to “save” Social Security, but it is only 1984 doublespeak. Their language of “save”, is done by reducing benefits and raising the age of eligibility. We already hear of pet-food eating elders who barely make do with existing social security payments. What would happen if even that tiny amount was no longer available? I have no doubt more people would starve.
In summary, what I have read in Project 2025 is designed to remove all safety nets (a), from old people, to babies and moms, to farmers or ranchers and farm hands, to sick and ailing people, and so on.
Believe it or not, it removes agencies with no religious affiliation from distributing humanitarian assistance, and instead turns that work over to faith-based organizations. Historically, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) relied on non-governmental, non-religious agencies such as Oxfam International for distributing humanitarian assistance. Trump changed that during his administration, but Project 2025 would make the change permanent. The result would be food, supplies, medical, and farming aid given to approved Christian organizations, and opens up religious indoctrination aimed toward the recipients.
Conclusion
Courts Will Not Help
Many have noted that Project 2025 proposals would likely be fought in court, however, I do not believe that would help. After all, with a clear Republican majority, the corrupt members of the Supreme Court (39, 40), would likely consider Project 2025 lawful. All you have to do is consider the Court’s ongoing commitment to the destruction of our democratic government.
- They opened the way for “dark money” in politics and elections (41).
- Legitimized political gerrymandering (42).
- Supported the enactment of various measures to make it harder to vote (43).
- Overturned Roe v. Wade.
- They decided to strike down the 40-years old Chevron agency-deference doctrine (44).
- Created a fabricated Presidential immunity clause (45).
Proponents Speak of War
Proponents of Project 2025 and the head of THF have employed warlike rhetoric and apocalyptic language in describing its document as a “battle plan” to regain control of the government from the “radical left,” which some have interpreted as threatening political violence.
- The threat is clear, consider: “We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be,” said Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation (46).
Few Helped But Many Harmed
All the items I have listed above that affect food are only a small list of items in this plan. Project 2025’s detail, hidden among all the conservative rhetoric, is frankly horrific. There are few policies I could find that actually help anyone’s situation with regard to food.
Solution is Voting, Challenging
Those of us astonished that Project 2025 is even out there to review, need to take steps to stop this plan from being implemented.
- We need to inform everyone about Project 2025 so they vote knowing what the MAGA Republicans intend.
- A vote for Republican, or abstaining this year, is a vote in support of Project 2025.
- Vote to support democracy and the US Constitution; keep the guardrails supporting democracy in place and secure.
For me, imagining Project 2025 actualized, is where the USA ends in a dystopian future.
—Patty
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