How Big Ag Lobbyists Perpetuate Climate Inequity
June 17, 2025 | Source: Civil Eats | by Brian Calvert
In May 2024, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) issued a report analyzing the lobbying efforts of agribusiness ahead of anticipated debate over a farm bill. That farm bill remains in limbo, but lobbyists have been active on Capitol Hill in recent weeks, as members of Congress debate the food and agriculture policy shifts contained in Trump’s “big, beautiful” budget reconciliation bill.
Money and lobbyists—a term coined for people who once waited in lobbies to speak to members of Congress—are intertwined in U.S. politics. Lobbyists act as influencers on behalf of special-interest groups. They help finance political campaigns and attend fundraisers for a chance to have their positions heard by legislators over breakfast, lunch, or drinks. The more money a lobbyist spends, the more face time he or she tends to get with a lawmaker (so long as the Supreme Court continues to protect money as free speech).
That leaves many Americans with little say in political decision-making and, according to Pew Research, “widespread dissatisfaction with the role of money in American politics.”