Congress is in recess during August which means your legislator is back at home. This is an opportune time to connect with your Congressional senators and representatives locally to tell them why you oppose the EATS (Ending Agricultural Trade and Suppression) Act.

 

Here are some recommendations developed by Defeat EATS coalition to ramp up opposition to the bill. Defeat EATS is a coalition of 120+ organizations, including JFAN, working to stop the EATS Act. 

 

We encourage you to take action even though all six Iowa legislators are co-sponsoring the bill. They all need to hear from you loud and clear there is significant opposition to their positions and that they should rescind their support.

 

Here are some resources that can give you some solid talking points:

• JFAN EATS Act Fact Sheet

• Defeat EATS Toolkit

• JFAN article, "Senator Grassley Is Wrong About the EATS Act" refuting the Senator’s recent comments that the EATS Act prevents industry consolidation.

 

Action Steps for August

 

Attend town halls, bring up the EATS Act with your legislators, and tell they why you oppose the bill.

• Find your Congressional legislator here. 

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Sign up for your legislators’ newsletters to get the latest news on where and when their town halls will take place.

• Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA)

• Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)

• Representative Marionnette Miller-Meeks (R-IA 1st District)

• Representative Ashley Hinson (R-IA 2nd District)

• Representative Zach Nunn (R-IA 3rd District)

• Representative Randy Feenstra (R-IA 4th District)

• If you’re outside Iowa, find a list of upcoming August Congressional Town Halls in this spreadsheet compiled by the ASPCA that also includes some Iowa town halls. It’s not complete, and the ASPCA continues to add to it. If you don’t see anything for your legislator, we suggest you contact your legislator’s office directly to find out their schedules.

 

Meet with legislators or their staff at their district offices found throughout Iowa. Office locations:

• Senator Chuck Grassley

• Senator Joni Ernst

• Rep.  Marionnette Miller-Meeks

• Rep. Ashley Hinson

• Rep Zach Nunn

• Rep. Randy Feenstra

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Write or call your legislators through this contact pages. Phone numbers can also be found on the district office pages:

• Senator Chuck Grassley

• Senator Joni Ernst

• Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks

• Rep. Ashley Hinson

• Rep. Zach Nunn

• Rep. Randy Feenstra

 

Write op-eds or letters to the editor.

• Check out the resources listed above to provide some good information to help you compose your own op-ed or letter to the editor. The Defeat EATS toolkit has some sample letters that you can personalize.

 

Create short videos (30 seconds – 2 minutes max) and post to Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Threads, Twitter, or any other social media outlets you use. Some ideas:

• Birddog during town halls, covering what legislators say

• Following a town hall, give a short report on what the legislator said

• Create a short video on your concerns about the EATS Act

• Interview someone who can share their concerns about the EATS Act

• Interview a farmer who benefits from Prop 12 and who would be hurt by the EATS Act.

 

Public opposition was able to stop the similar King Amendments in 2014 and 2018. If we take action and let our voices be heard, public opposition can do that again with this year’s EATS Act.

 

Thank you for all you do to help stop this dangerous bill.