Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 9/6/19

The candidates' pitches to the agriculture community got the most airtime yet during CNN's marathon town hall this week, after the first two rounds of primary debates mentioned farmers only once.

Nearly all 10 of the candidates who qualified for the town hall — except former Vice President Joe Biden and HUD Secretary Julian Castro — fielded questions about agriculture's contributions to climate change, as well as how it can be part of the solution. "Cover crops," "red meat," and "incentives" were among the buzzwords based on your host's review. The event arrived as Hurricane Dorian made its way through the Carolinas.

Harris, Yang endorse eating less red meat: Sen. Kamala Harris (Calif.), who said she loves eating cheeseburgers from time to time, supported changing the government's Dietary Guidelines for Americans to reduce red meat consumption. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) said the government could "look at doing that," but emphasized that it should be based on science. Entrepreneur Andrew Yang didn't specifically mention the guidelines, but he said it would be healthier for people and the planet to eat less red meat.

USDA and HHS, which write the dietary guidelines every five years, decided not to consider environmental sustainability or explicitly urge Americans to cut back on red meat in its 2015 iteration, despite recommendations by an advisory panel, after significant blowback from the meat lobby. The Trump administration doesn't plan to in 2020, either.

Livestock are responsible for about 14.5 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization. The global EAT-Lancet Commission made waves earlier this year with its "planetary health diet" that advised a big shift to largely plant-based foods, drawing criticism from the livestock industry, as well as registered dietitians and low-carb enthusiasts.

Pay farmers to adopt climate-friendly practices: South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sens. Cory Booker (N.J.) and Klobuchar were specifically asked how they would help farmers be more resilient to intensifying natural disasters, as well as economically viable. They touted plans to pour billions into conservation programs that pay farmers and ranchers to do things like plant cover crops. The practice can improve soil health, which helps pull carbon from the atmosphere, and prevent nutrient runoff from fields.

"With climate change, farmers have the most to lose," Buttigieg said in response to a question from a Connecticut dairy farmer. 

"Rural Americans can be a huge part of the solution. To me, the quest for a net zero emissions cattle farm is one of the most exciting things we might undertake. It can be done right now, but it's unaffordable. To make it pencil out, we need to change the economics. It means federal investment in [USDA research and development]."

Carbon tax: Former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke rejected that we have to "radically" change how we eat to combat climate change, arguing instead that we should be more responsible with natural resources. He said some of the best ways to do that include paying farmers for environmental services, as well as setting a price on carbon. That idea was endorsed by more than half of the 10 candidates at the CNN town hall — but has been politically toxic in Washington.