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ISSUE: The effect of Sustainable Development on American agriculture is of significant
concern due to the onerous regulatory reform that has and is being imposed on farmers
and ranchers across the nation, making it more and more difficult to comply and stay in
operation.
AMERICAN AGRI-WOMEN REQUEST: We strongly urge Congress to uphold their
sworn oath to protect the sovereignty of the United States against global governance and
any and all policies that erode Constitutional Rights, including private property rights.
BACKGROUND: “Sustainable Development” is a globally recognized term first
introduced to the world in The Brundtland Report (1987), titled “Our Common Future”
created by the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development
(UNCED) and former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland (who also
served as Vice President of the Socialist International Party, Director General of the
World Health Organization (WHO), and UN Special Envoy on Climate Change).
The official definition of “Sustainable Development” is: “Development that meets the
needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs.”1 And, while it sounds harmless, it is indeed a loaded term aggressively being
adopted and implemented in governance plans across the United States, especially within
government agencies, which warrants transparency, detailed examination and deep
deliberation.
The UN plan for Sustainable Development is being adopted and implemented at the local
level in many ways through initiatives like Environmental, Social and Governance
(ESG), the “America the Beautiful” 30x30 Plan, and organizations like the “Local
Governments for Sustainability” and the International Council on Local Environmental
Initiatives (ICLEI, headquartered in Bonn, Germany).
ICLEI’s mission is to “build and serve a nationwide alliance of local governments,
participating in the ICLEI worldwide association, to achieve measurable progress towards
more economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable forms of development and
management.”
For decades, ICLEI has provided the framework for local communities in the U.S. to
apply international policies in the name of Smart Growth, The Wildlands Project,
Resilient Cities, Regional Visioning Projects, STAR Sustainable Communities, Green
Jobs, Green Building Codes, Alternative Energy, Regional Planning and Governance,
Conservation Easements, reduced development rights, and “sustainable farming” to name
a few, with the goal of all of the above governed by UN International Law that directly
affects the use and value of U.S. citizens’ private property; restricting our sovereignty as
a Nation.
The UN’s 1,147-paged Global Biodiversity Assessment identifies and seeks to eliminate
property usages that are considered un-sustainable, specifically naming “land use that
serves human needs” (pg. 783), “private property” (pg. 767), grazing of livestock and
fences (pgs. 350-1), agriculture and “modern farm production” including herbicides,
building materials, fossil fuels used for driving various kinds of machines, aquaculture,
technology improvements, farmlands, rangelands, pastures, fish ponds (pgs. 728-733),
logging activities (pg. 749), dams and reservoirs (pg. 755), and economic systems that
fail to set proper value on the environment according to the international standards set
forth by the UN Plan for Sustainable Development. It also suggests that “blocks [of land]
as large as possible” in all regions of the United States be protected in the “Wildlands
Project” covering “as much as 30% of the US land area” (pg. 993), e.g. Executive Order
14008 "Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad" ( 86 Fed. Reg. 7619), also
referred to as “The 30x30 Plan” and “America The Beautiful.” Under the guise of
environmentalism, climate change, or green energy, the UN Plan for Sustainable
Development has also restricted the leasing, permitting, and drilling of oil along with the
mining of critical minerals. This hinders our energy security and weakens our National
Security.
Operating under these regulatory conditions imposed by Sustainable Development puts
the security of our nation’s food supply at risk, as well as our right to private property,
and the sovereignty of our nation.