Florida lawmakers will consider eliminating the use of fluoride in drinking water, prohibiting the use of the term “milk” to describe milk alternatives, and addressing a variety of agricultural issues currently affecting the state’s farmers.
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson told the Herald-Tribune that the Florida Farm Bill addresses health concerns about fluoride in water supplies, milk labeling, eliminating “red tape” for gun owners, and drone issues for hunters.
Simpson also urged President Donald Trump and federal lawmakers to follow Florida’s lead and pass a long-awaited national farm bill. He claims that years of inaction at the federal level have hampered the nation’s agriculture.
“There are many challenges in the agriculture community, mostly affecting our small farmers,” according to Simpson. “Housing affordability and labor availability are significant challenges. Recent hurricanes have posed significant challenges to agriculture.
“When you think what is really hurting agriculture, there has not been a federal farm bill done in seven years,” he informed us. “You have a lot of Congresspeople talking about the farm bill, but they never seem to get it passed.
They’re supposed to revise the farm bill every five years… So they haven’t passed a farm bill to provide farmers with the relief they require from all of the various storms and natural disasters; there are many challenges that we face.”
Quick look: 10 highlights from the 2025 Florida Farm Bill
The 2025 Florida Farm Bill aims to address issues that affect both the agricultural community and consumers in general. It will be considered during the upcoming legislative session, which begins March 4.
- Prohibit the addition of any non-water quality additives into the public water supply, such as fluoride . The proposal will not completely remove the option of fluoridated water, as private water producers will still be permitted to sell water that includes fluoride as a way of providing Florida consumers with the choice on whether they would like to consume fluoridated water.
- Prohibit the labeling of plant-based products as “milk” or “meat” or “poultry.”
- Prohibit the use of drones on lands classified as agricultural without the property owner’s approval. The measure also prohibits drone use on or near private property, state hunting lands, or shooting ranges with the intent to harass.
- Prohibits charitable organizations from collecting or soliciting donations from “Foreign Countries of Concern.”
- Updates Florida’s concealed weapon licenses process to expedite the return of guns to owners accused of crimes that would not disqualify them from gun ownership or possession.
- Eliminates the loophole for the sale of psychedelic mushrooms by making it illegal to transport spores capable of producing them at any point during their life stage.
- Establishes a grant program for fiscally constrained counties and areas along evacuation routes to purchase generator power switches for fuel stations.
- Creates a state felony for stealing checks out of mailboxes from Florida homes and businesses.
- Would end sustainable lending practices that considers a borrower’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impact to support businesses based on a track record of environmental sustainability.
- Returns the decision for solar farms on agricultural land to local government.
Farm bill targets Fluoride in drinking water
Last September, a federal court in California ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to strengthen regulations for the use of fluoride in drinking water following a lawsuit filed by the Food & Water Watch, Inc. advocacy group, which claimed the agency was ignoring scientific evidence that raised health concerns among critics.
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo then issued guidance to local municipalities, calling for an end to the long-standing tooth decay prevention practice. Simpson stated that legislation in the farm bill would address the issue on a statewide basis.
Not everyone agrees. Proponents of fluoride in drinking water argue that it is added at safe levels and helps prevent tooth decay. They believe the issue may have an impact on economically disadvantaged populations due to the additional implications for dental care.
According to a USA Today article, it is one of the top ten public health achievements of the last century.
“If COVID-19 taught us anything, it is that government has the ability to force health decisions without our consent based on emerging facts,” Simpson told reporters. “Public water systems should be about fresh, clean, safe drinking water — not a means for delivering government prescribed medicine without the consent of the consumer.”
Florida Farm Bill plans to assure consumers that nuts don’t “Got Milk”
If passed, the 2025 Farm Bill would prohibit plant-based food alternatives from using the terms “milk,” “meat,” or “poultry” as part of their product branding. For years, the issue has sparked heated debate in agricultural circles.
The United States Department of Agriculture issued non-binding draft guidance in 2023, which was heavily criticized by those who oppose using the term “milk” to describe alternatives.
The USDA believes that the terms “milk,” “beverage,” or “drink” can be used to describe a plant-based alternative if the phrasing includes the original plant source.
In a 2020 blog post, the American Vegan Society argued that nuts have been used to make “milk” in the United States since the time of Native Americans, and that the society rejects “the cattle-industry barons’ ownership of the term.”
Simpson called the practice confusing for customers because the plant-based products are not made from milk. He stated that the proposal is intended to support Florida dairy farmers in the ongoing term dispute.
“This year’s farm bill is looking to protect how we label things to our citizens to make sure that they can see that there’s a real difference here,” according to him.
“Just because something looks like a piece of meat or look like it’s milk does not make it milk, and our farmers have a tough time fighting the perception of that as you continue to get advertisements, ‘Oh, look at this great almond milk,’ or look at this other type of product that are not really those things.”
Florida Farm Bill addresses housing crisis for agricultural workers
The farm legislation for 2025 also includes proposals to address the housing crisis among agricultural labor workers.
Simpson stated that, contrary to popular belief, undocumented immigrants do not constitute the majority of agricultural workers in Florida.
He believes that improvements to the federal H-2A program, which allows American agricultural employers to legally hire foreign workers to fill seasonal agricultural jobs, including the ability to build temporary worker housing on agricultural property, could be a critical piece of the puzzle.
“Less than 5% of people who are here illegally work in the agriculture industry,” Simpson informed me. “They primarily work in large cities in hospitality-related positions. Construction jobs. Things of that nature. So it’s a minor concern for agriculture.
“But, nonetheless, we should be allowed to build H2A housing at our farms to be able to bring in that labor as we need it for the season that we’re in,” he told me.
During whatever season is approaching, we should be able to have enough labor to work on that farm and move around the country freely… That is a big deal that we will be working on this year, the housing crisis that we are experiencing not only in Florida, but across the country.”
