Ken Cook

Ken Cook is widely recognized as one of the most prominent and effective independent analysts of U.S. farm policy.  Cook is a principal architect of landmark conservation laws that have shifted U.S. agriculture policy toward preservation of land, water, wetlands and wildlife.  EWG’s farm subsidy database details nearly $250 billion in subsidy payments and has generated 254 million searches since 2004.  A New York Times profile of Cook said that the unique database “not only caught the attention of lawmakers, it also helped transform the farm bill into a question about equity and whether the country’s wealthiest farmers should be paid to grow commodity crops while many smaller family farms receive nothing and are going out of business.”