Many of the programs concerned with the distribution of food and nutrition to people of the United States and providing nourishment as well as nutrition education to those in need are run by the Food and Nutrition Service. Activities in this program include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides healthy food to over 40 million low-income and homeless people each month.[5] USDA is a member of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness,[6] where it is committed to working with other agencies to ensure these mainstream benefits have been accessed by those experiencing homelessness.

The USDA also is concerned with assisting farmers and food producers with the sale of crops and food on both the domestic and world markets. It plays a role in overseas aid programs by providing surplus foods to developing countries. This aid can go through USAID, foreign governments, international bodies such as World Food Programme, or approved nonprofits. The Agricultural Act of 1949, section 416 (b) and Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954, also known as Food for Peace, provides the legal basis of such actions. The USDA is a partner of the World Cocoa Foundation.

History

Further information: History of agriculture in the United States

Harvey Washington Wiley, Chief Chemist of the Department of Agriculture's Division of Chemistry (third from the right) with his staff in 1883

The standard history is Gladys L. Baker, ed., Century of Service: The first 100 years of the United States Department of Agriculture (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1963).[7]

Origins in the Patent Office

Early in its history, the American economy was largely agrarian. Officials in the federal government had long sought new and improved varieties of seeds, plants and animals for import into the United States. In 1829, by request of James Smithson out of a desire to further promulgate and diffuse scientific knowledge amongst the American people, the Smithsonian Institution was established, though it did not incorporate agriculture.[8] In 1837, Henry Leavitt Ellsworth became Commissioner of Patents in the Department of State. He began collecting and distributing new varieties of seeds and plants through members of the Congress and local agricultural societies. In 1839, Congress established the Agricultural Division within the Patent Office and allotted $1,000 for "the collection of agricultural statistics and other agricultural purposes."[9] Ellsworth's interest in aiding agriculture was evident in his annual reports that called for a public depository to preserve and distribute the various new seeds and plants, a clerk to collect agricultural statistics, the preparation of statewide reports about crops in different regions, and the application of chemistry to agriculture.[10] Ellsworth was called the "Father of the Department of Agriculture".[11]

In 1849, the Patent Office was transferred to the newly created Department of the Interior. In the ensuing years, agitation for a separate bureau within the department or a separate department devoted to agriculture kept recurring.[10]

Formation

The first Department of Agriculture Building on the National Mall around 1895

On May 15, 1862, Abraham Lincoln established the independent Department of Agriculture through the Morrill Act to be headed by a commissioner without Cabinet status. Staffed by only eight employees, the department was charged with conducting research and development related to "agriculture, rural development, aquaculture and human nutrition in the most general and comprehensive sense of those terms".[12] Agriculturalist [Isaac Newton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newto

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Programs & Activities

Environmental justice initiatives

In their 2012 environmental justice strategy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) stated an ongoing desire to integrate environmental justice into its core mission and operations. In 2011, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack emphasized the USDA's focus on Environmental justice (EJ) in rural communities around the United States, as well as connecting with Indigenous Tribes and ensuring they understand and receive their environmental rights. USDA does fund programs with social and environmental equity goals; however, it has no staff dedicated solely to EJ.

Background

On February 16, 1994, President Clinton issued Executive Order 12898, "Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations." Executive Order 12898 requires that achieving EJ must be part of each federal agency's mission. Under Executive Order 12898 federal agencies must:

enforce all health and environmental statutes in areas with minority and low-income populations;
ensure public participation;
improve research and data collection relating to the health and environment of minority and low-income populations; and
identify differential patterns of consumption of natural resources among minority and low-income populations.

The Executive Order also created an Interagency Working Group (IWG) consisting of 11 heads of departments and agencies.[63]

2012 Environmental Justice Strategy

On February 7, 2012, the USDA released a final Environmental Justice Strategic Plan identifying new and updated goals and performance measures beyond what USDA identified in a 1995 EJ strategy that was adopted in response to E.O. 12898.[64] Generally, USDA believes its existing technical and financial assistance programs provide solutions to environmental inequity, such as its initiatives on education, food deserts, and economic development in impacted communities.

Natural Resources and Environment Under Secretary Harris Sherman is the political appointee generally responsible for USDA's EJ strategy, with Patrick Holmes, a senior staffer to the Under Secretary, playing a coordinating role. USDA has no staff dedicated solely to EJ.[65]

EJ Initiatives in Tribal Communities

Tribal development

USDA has had a role in implementing Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign in tribal areas by increasing Bureau of Indian Education schools' participation in federal nutrition programs, by developing community gardens on tribal lands, and developing tribal food policy councils.[66]

More than $6.2 billion in Rural Development funding has been allocated for community infrastructure in Indian country and is distributed via 47 state offices that altogether cover the entire continental United States, Hawaii, and Alaska.[65] Such funding has been used for a variety of reasons:

Rural housing

single-family housing direct loans
loan guarantees loans for very-low-income homeowners
financing for affordable rental housing
financing for farm laborers and their families

Community facilities

child and senior care centers
emergency services
healthcare institutions
educational institutions
tribal administration buildings

Business and cooperative programs

increased access to broadband connections
tribal workplace development and employment opportunities
sustainable renewable energy development
regional food systems
financing and technical assistance for entrepreneurs, including loans and lending
increased access to capital through Tribal [CDFIs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_development_financial_institution "Community development fi

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Agency overview, history, and program data sourced from Wikipedia (CC-BY-SA 3.0).

Key Regulations

7 CFR 205active

National Organic Program

Sets standards for what products can be labeled organic, prohibiting synthetic chemicals and genetic engineering.

9 CFR 417active

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Systems

Requires meat and poultry processors to implement food safety systems that identify and control contamination hazards.

7 CFR 273active

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Certification

Establishes eligibility rules and benefit amounts for the food stamp program (SNAP).

Enforcement Actions

No enforcement actions found for USDA in the current dataset.