Protect The Harvest | Student POV – How Biden’s 30×30 Will Impact Younger Generations

Written by a junior studying agricultural communications and agribusiness at Oklahoma State University

Before I share my opinions on the Biden administration’s 30×30 plan, it is important to understand the initiative. I will be the first to admit that until I started to research the topic for this piece, I had very little knowledge about 30×30.

30×30, also known as Executive Order 14008, is the recommended steps the United States should take to achieve the goal of conserving at least 30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030. It is also part of the larger 30×30 worldwide initiative agreed upon at the COP15 meeting.

The U.S. government currently controls conservation lands equal to the size of California and New York combined. To achieve the federal government’s desired 30 percent total land objective, land equaling twice the size of Texas would need to be added to the existing inventory. That requires confiscating land from private landowners and placing it into a “public” land bank that would be off-limits to the public. The goal is part of President Biden’s proposed program to address climate change.

If 30×30 is implemented and achieves its goals, I believe it will have a huge impact on our younger generations and food security. An important question to ponder is: where will this privately-owned land come from? The land won’t be coming from urban or suburban areas. Instead, it will be rural America that is dealt the blow of removing land access.