More on the Farm Bill
What do school lunches, renewable energy, and clean water all have in common?
The Farm Bill– an often overlooked piece of legislation that profoundly affects rural communities, the environment, health, and hunger. Bioneers speaker in ‘06, Michael Pollan, gave us a call to action, reminding us that the Farm Bill is really a Food Bill:
“Let your senators and representatives know you’re paying attention and you care. Let them know that you understand that the Farm Bill is really a food bill. It is our fight. Unless we take it to them, they’re going to do the same thing again and we’re going to have more corn, and more soybeans, more Smithfields and Cargills and fewer farmers markets. So please follow this fight and help to wage it.”
Congress is reworking the Farm Bill this year, and a strong coalition of organizations is calling for a new direction in farm and food policy. Michigan’s Senator Stabenow sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee and has strong influence on farm bill direction. Let her know how you want to eat!
For an easy start, go to www.healthyfarmbill.org. For every 100 messages sent from our state, the Farm and Food Policy Project will hand deliver a package of healthy, local food to your Senators and Representatives – a strong message of what we really need from our farm bill.
For more background on the Farm Bill, try these sites:
Thank you, Marty Heller, for putting this entry together for us…