To commemorate Women’s History Month, we’re interviewing women at the Center for Progressive Reform about how they’re building a more just America, whether by pursuing a just transition to clean energy, protections for food workers, or legal support for Native Americans. This week, we spoke with Board Member Gilonne d’Origny, a translational advisor for the Institute for Protein Design at the University of Washington, which designs new proteins to solve problems in medicine, energy, and technology.
CPR: What motivated you to become an expert in food policy and a voice for equal justice in America? Is there historical context to this or a moment in history that stood out to you as motivation or inspiration?
GdO: Since my time at university, I’ve believed that food systems must change given the considerable carbon footprint of producing and supplying food, and the potential of rewilding and regenerative agriculture to capture and sequester carbon. Policy is foundational to system change, especially by putting a price on pollution and value — or incentives — on nature.
CPR: What do you see as the highest priority in this field and what are the barriers to change? How does/might your work affect women in particular? Are there inequalities you’ve witnessed that you’re working to change?
GdO: The highest priority is the concept of “polluter pays,” followed by instituting subsidies for companies that operate under best practice, and then providing support for the most vulnerable and disenfranchised to access healthy foods. (The USDA already facilitates this with food stamps for farmers’ markets.) When changes are made, especially when using economic levers, there are winners and losers. The losers with these priorities would be big food and big agriculture industries — highly centralized and fossil fuel-powered. Given that pollution harms low-income communities first, by changing the system, theoretically, inequities will be systematically adjusted.
CPR: If you could have Congress or President Biden’s ear for an afternoon, what would you recommend?
GdO: I would recommend that the real social cost of carbon (i.e., not the $50 price, but something much bigger) is added to all price tags, including food, so that, for example, an apple grown on a regenerative orchard delivered in a basket is cheaper than an industrially produced apple delivered in a plastic bag.
CPR: Who inspires you?
GdO: Sheldon Whitehouse (U.S. Senator), Bill McKibben (climate organizer and activist), Rachel Carson (naturalist and author), Cina Lawson (Togolese politician).
CPR: Who in particular would benefit from the policy reform you seek?
GdO: While there are specific communities that could benefit from more sustainable agriculture and food policies and by putting a price on pollution (e.g., Black, Brown, low-income communities), I believe that systematic policy changes could benefit all people.
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Gilonne d'Origny, Maggie Dewane | March 12, 2021
To commemorate Women’s History Month, we’re interviewing women at the Center for Progressive Reform about how they’re building a more just America. This week we spoke to Gilonne d'Origny.
Alejandro Camacho, Melissa Kelly | March 9, 2021
Notwithstanding the Freedom of Information Act's primary goal of promoting transparency in government decision-making, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled by a 7-to-2 vote that the public policy of facilitating agency candor in exercising its expertise in preliminary agency deliberations can outweigh such transparency and accountability concerns. Justice Amy Coney Barrett delivered the 11-page opinion, her first majority opinion since joining the court in October. It was a natural debut given that the case, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service v. Sierra Club, was the first oral argument that Barrett heard after joining the bench.
Karen Sokol, Robert Verchick | March 9, 2021
In the United States, many people think the world's worst human rights abuses take place elsewhere. Unless you are among those in the United States who are subjected to such mistreatment. On March 2, human rights experts called the world's attention to some of the most egregious and systematic human rights violations perpetuated here in the United States — and in particular in our neck of the woods in southeast Louisiana. International human rights experts condemned long-standing environmental racism in "Cancer Alley" — a heavily industrialized and polluted corridor along the Lower Mississippi River — and said it must end.
Daniel Farber | March 8, 2021
The COVID pandemic has provided a vivid picture of what happens when ill-prepared governments are suddenly hit with huge responsibilities. Underfunded state and local public health agencies were overwhelmed, while governors and local officials found themselves struggling to obtain and distribute vital supplies, from respirators to vaccines. Efforts to accelerate the transition away from carbon, such as a green stimulus, may run into similar problems if we neglect the agencies that will have to implement policies.
Maggie Dewane | March 8, 2021
International Women’s Day celebrates the changes made by women and calls for action to accelerate women’s equality. This year, International Women’s Day notes that a challenged world is an alert world, and from challenge comes change.
Hannah Wiseman, Maggie Dewane | March 5, 2021
To commemorate Women’s History Month, we’re interviewing women at the Center for Progressive Reform about how they’re building a more just America.
Sidney A. Shapiro | March 3, 2021
Amid the Sturm und Drang (storm and stress) of politics these days, one fact stands out — a large majority of Americans want more regulatory protection in a wide variety of areas, according to a recent poll of likely voters. The results are consistent with previous polls that indicate that Americans understand the importance of government regulation in protecting them from financial and health risks beyond their control. They also indicate majority support for efforts by the Biden administration to renew government regulation — as well as a stark repudiation of former President Trump’s extreme anti-regulatory agenda.
Daniel Farber | March 2, 2021
"The social cost of carbon" isn't exactly a household phrase. It's an estimate of the harm caused by emitting a ton of carbon dioxide over the many decades it remains in the atmosphere. That's an important factor in calculating the costs and benefits of climate regulations. For an arcane concept, it has certainly caused a lot of controversy. The Obama administration came up with a set of estimates, which Trump then slashed by 90 percent. In an early executive order, Biden created a task force to revisit the issue. Last week, the task force issued its first report. It's an impressive effort given that Biden is barely a month into his presidency. The document provides a clear overview of the ways in which climate science and climate economics have advanced since the Obama estimates and makes the case for rejecting the Trump administration's revisions. At least one federal court has already rejected those revisions, as well.
Katlyn Schmitt | March 1, 2021
Businesses that violate environmental laws and permits damage our air, land, and water, sometimes irreparably. Yet too often, these polluters aren't held accountable for harming the environment and public health. In Maryland, state officials don't respond to all violations, and, when they do, they aren't always successful. Even when they are successful, fines and other penalties don't necessarily result in behavior change. As a result, Maryland polluters are largely off the hook for the "externalities" of doing business.