By Navina Khanna, Executive Director, HEAL Food Alliance
The recent Supreme Court rulings are a stark reminder that it will take all of us to change systems that were never designed for us. From turning courts into policymakers to giving presidents near-total immunity from prosecution, these latest opinions advance a worldview that values corporate profits over people and planet, while upholding fascist institutions at a cost to us all – especially those of us that are Black, Indigenous, people of color, disabled, low income and from other communities on the frontlines.
The time has come for us to “reimagine everything” (as Grace Lee Boggs once said to describe what she called “visionary organizing”). To reimagine systems rooted in stolen land, labor and lives. To reimagine systems that limit our imaginations to racial capitalism, authoritarianism and carcerality. It’s up to us to imagine alternative systems and create new ways of existing.
HEAL Food Alliance denounces these rulings and the efforts of the Supreme Court to undermine democracy and the rights of the people. The impact of these decisions on our food and ag systems and the people and communities HEAL works within is not yet fully understood. Below, we have outlined some key decisions of the court, and what is ahead as we continue to organize together for sovereign futures.
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Overview of Key SCOTUS Decisions
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce
On June 28, 2024, the Loper Bright Enterprises ruling overturned a 40 year old legal precedent known as the Chevron deference. The Chevron deference meant that laws passed by Congress that can be interpreted in multiple ways must be administered by agencies with the expertise to develop reasonable standards. This allowed Congress to pass laws while relying upon agencies like the EPA, OSHA, and the USDA to determine the details and create effective programs.
These decisions roll back this authority of agencies, and places the task of interpretation on the courts, instead.
What this means: Agencies no longer have the ability to hold corporations accountable when they refuse to obey regulations. This is harmful for the creation and enforcement of health and safety standards in food and drug, environmental, and labor sectors. Members of Congress will likely struggle to pass effective legislation. The power of the court system has significantly expanded, and hundreds of lower courts across the country will be responsible for interpreting and ruling on issues of national policy.
Corner Post v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Following the Loper Bright decision (above), the Supreme Court also enabled corporations to more easily challenge federal agency regulations by removing the six year statute of limitations.
What this means: Previously, to protect agencies from continuous lawsuits over rules, there was a limited time that a rule could be challenged in court: six years from the creation of a regulation. The new ruling allows a party to sue within six years of first being “injured” by the regulation, which opens the door for corporations that were created long after a regulation to challenge it.
Trump v. United States
In a blatant ideological ruling by the conservative majority (and during an election year!), Trump v. United States ruled that the president has immunity from prosecution for any “official” acts. The case centered around former President Trump’s claim that he was immune to federal criminal charges for any efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
What this means: Under the ruling, a President will wield nearly unchecked power. The decision makes it extremely difficult to hold a President accountable for any actions they claim were a part of their official constitutional duties. This undermines the system of checks and balances in the U.S., which separates power between multiple branches of government–the President, Congress, and the Supreme Court. By setting a standard that a President is above the law, this decision has enormous implications for the future of American democracy and governance.
Alexander v. South Carolina NAACP
In Alexander v. South Carolina NAACP the court found South Carolina’s drawing of districts along racial lines acceptable and ruled to allow this practice of race-based gerrymandering to continue.
What this means: By allowing states to create districts that prioritize white voters and disenfranchise Black communities and voters, this decision deals a serious blow to voting rights in South Carolina and the rest of the nation. This type of voter oppression may be used to entrench white supremacy in state governments and policy-making.
“The only way to survive is by taking care of one another.”
Impact of the Supreme Court Decisions
All people deserve nourishing food, clean waters, dignified labor, and unpolluted air. It is the responsibility of those who govern to uphold keystone laws like the Clean Air and Water Act that have created our current system of environmental protections, not to diminish protections and reduce public safety. As climate change threatens communities and our food systems, removing agencies’ abilities to enforce conservation efforts or limit pollution and carbon emissions will endanger lives, especially among food-insecure and historically marginalized communities.
Farmers and farmworkers deserve fair opportunities and increased protections. The Supreme Court rulings jeopardizes the efforts of HEAL and our members to pass bills like the Protecting America’s Meatpacking Workers Act and the Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury and Fatality Prevention Act. These bills are critical to securing basic safety protections for food and farm workers. They also rely upon the guidance and expertise of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), agencies whose powers have been effectively revoked.
We deserve a Farm Bill that works for us all. With less than 100 days until the presidential election and a deeply divided Congress, the window of opportunity to pass a better Farm Bill this year is small, and these rulings will make it significantly harder to do so. At the highest level, these decisions increase the power of corporations in our food and agriculture system, rather than empowering communities and prioritizing climate action.
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We Take Care of Us
This moment calls on us to produce a counterculture of solidarity and care. We must recognize our strength and power in community and our ability to create the worlds we want to see.
We must be both disciplined and steadfast in envisioning the world we want to create while mobilizing and sowing seeds for liberation. Our work for food sovereignty will continue. It is through our solidarity and unwavering resistance that we build thriving and nourishing futures for people and the planet.