This Pandemic Must Change Our Country For The Better. Here’s Our Path Forward.

Fighters like you have been working alongside us to defend food, water, and a livable climate. But COVID-19 came along and showed the world what we already knew — that in America, the emperor is wearing no clothes. Already lax protections for our resources, in the face of a worldwide crisis, are in danger of eroding to nearly no oversight at all. USDA line inspections accelerating to a mad hatter speed, stimulus packages for the public being commandeered by the obsolete fossil fuel industry, and water being shut off just when people need to wash their hands the most are some of the nation’s most glaring failures when it comes to protecting its people.

But I’m not writing today to tell you about bad news — you already see enough of that. Ours is a story of victory against the odds, and you can help us win the fights that are in motion.  

Joining Forces To Stop Water Shutoffs Around The Nation

In normal times, it’s unethical to shut off people’s water due to financial hardships. But during a worldwide pandemic, it’s reckless cruelty. 

So we organized a critical grassroots campaign demanding a moratorium on water shutoffs. Thousands of activists like you made their voices known. As a result, 15 states, Washington, D.C. and almost 663 other local jurisdictions have suspended water shutoffs, protecting 210 million people (or 64% of the U.S. population).

Now we are moving this call to the national level. Along with 233 organizations from across the country, Rep. Lawrence (MI-14) and 80 other federal lawmakers, we are urging Congress to prioritize $47.5 billion in water funding as part of the next COVID-19 stimulus package.

It’s a bedrock measure to protect each other now, and well into the future. 

We’re Pushing Back As Big Ag Corporations And USDA Go Off The Rails

Being able to trust our food is crucial for our health and safety, and that’s on everyone’s mind during this pandemic. But the Trump administration has doubled down on its mission to deregulate Big Ag. Trump’s USDA has reduced the inspectors assigned to the slaughter lines in some of the biggest meat processing facilities. It’s turning over critical inspection tasks to untrained company employees and removing the cap on how fast a slaughter line can run. This leaves inspectors only seconds to determine if the meat being processed is safe for sale and consumption. For instance, under traditional inspection methods, a poultry inspector should evaluate 35 birds per minute. Under the new rules, they’re “evaluating” 175 per minute. 

But we are pushing back. Because of you, thousands of messages have been sent to Congress asking them to stop USDA from granting food safety waivers. Outrage from the public is a pivotal first step to bringing change to a system that desperately needs it. 

“Don’t Bail Out Fossil Fuels. Buy Them Out Instead.”

Americans are waking up to the fact that oil is worthless. As American fossil fuel corporations’ stock hits rock bottom, the Trump administration wants taxpayers to bail out the failing industry. More than 30,000 activists like you have raised their voices saying COVID-19 bailouts should go to people, not Big Oil & Gas.

Food & Water Action has another idea for Congress. It’s time for a buy-out of the fossil fuel industry, not a bailout. For pennies on the dollar, the federal government could take control of major oil and gas corporations, ensure a fair and just transition for the industry’s workers and affected communities, and ramp down oil and gas production. It’s a move that would empower us to prioritize our environment and a sustainable future — while creating new green jobs for workers right now! 

You can read Executive Director Wenonah Hauter’s proposal of this game-changing chess move in Newsweek.

This Deadly Pandemic Can Be A Turning Point If We All Band Together

The lesson that we must take from this period of uncertainty, danger, and grief, is just how much we the people really do care about each other. As we cry and worry and chip in for those we love and for complete strangers whose stories we see on the internet, one thing has become clearer than ever; we are all in this together. 

We need to be united to fight back against the Trump administration and corporations that think we will let them raid our funds and put our country at further risk. We won’t let them. We will fight them now together, and we will fight them until we win — because we must. This moment calls for nothing but our very best. 

Will you empower this fight with a #GivingTuesdayNow donation? Your gift is 3x as powerful today thanks to a generous matching donor. Let’s show our strength together today, as we prepare to win big in the future!

Fight like you live here.