By Marc
Almost a year ago I posted Legislating Local Foods, an introduction to the Food and Farm Bill (also called the "Farm Bill," a highly flawed nickname). The Food and Farm Bill can have a positive impact on local eating in many ways---through programs that encourage purchases of local foods by schools, support for fruit and vegetable growers, funds to publicize Farmers Markets, to name a few.
Congress is writing the 2007 Food and Farm Bill during the summer, with a goal of a final vote before October. Subcommittees of the House Agriculture Committee are almost finished with their respective parts of the bill. After subcommittees finish their work, the full Agriculture Committee will combine them into the complete package, make amendments and deletions, and send it to the full House for debate, amendment and a vote. No one is quite sure what will happen when it reaches "the floor." Will House Speaker Pelosi (D-CA) allow amendments from non-members of the Ag Committee? Or will she call for a vote immediately? Dan Owens, at the Blog for Rural America has some thoughts on that question.
The Senate is a few weeks away from their committee sessions on the Food and Farm bill.
So far, a few nasty surprises have appeared in the House, with possibly the most unpleasant a plan to force genetically modified crops, cloned animals, and other potentially harmful foods on an unwilling public. Section 123 of the Livestock, Dairy and Poultry title (Title I) declares that "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no State or locality shall make any law prohibiting the use in commerce of an article that the Secretary of Agriculture has (1) inspected and passed; or (2) determined to be of non-regulated status." In other words, if the USDA says it's "safe," laws banning the sale or planting of the product are not allowed. (More on this at Ethicurean.)
On a more positive note, the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition, and Forestry approved a draft of the Nutrition Title that includes increased funding for several programs that promote local food systems and real food. One is the DoD Fresh Program, in which the Department of Defense (DoD) delivers fresh fruits and vegetables to schools on DoD facilities (the food is purchased with USDA funds, since the DoD is so short of money these days...). The draft increases the funding by over 200% in the next few years. The draft also calls for more funding for the Seniors Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (if funds are available), which pretty much does what the name implies. Note that funding for both of these programs must be approved by Congress each year, so letters to Congress will be needed annually, not just during this year's Food and Farm Bill debate. For more information about these two programs, check out a PDF of the legislation and a PDF of section-by-section analysis from the House Ag Committee's Farm Bill page.
Another positive part of the House Ag Committee's draft is an increase in funding for research and extension programs related to organic farming. The Organic Farming Research Foundation has an an update on this in PDF format.
If your Representative or Senator is on an Agriculture Committee, it is very important to write now so they receive your comments before the full Committee considers the legislation. If your members of Congress are not on an Ag Committee, you should still write soon so he or she can start bargaining and preparing amendments for when the bill reaches the House or Senate floor. Members of Congress from non-farming districts have significant power because without their votes, a Food and Farm Bill will not pass. Congressional web pages have addresses and phone numbers for Representatives and Senators. In these days of high security for snail mail letters, a fax or phone call is the quickest way to share your opinions. If you must write a letter, try sending it to one of the local offices, where delays are much shorter than at the U.S. Capitol.
You can find some additional action resources at Om Organics' Farm Bill Action Guide or at the California Coalition for Food and Farming.
Marc lives in Berkeley, California. He writes Mental Masala (an enticing blend of food, history, travel, and nature) and contributes to Ethicurean ("Chew the right thing") under the nom de blog Mental Masala.
