U.S. Argricultural Policy and the Farm Bill - Resources

• Previewing a 2007 Farm Bill [PDF] -- provides a detailed overview of "what is a Farm Bill?" and issues that are being debated as the 2002 Farm Bill come up for renewal in 2007.
• The "Farm Bill" in Brief [PDF] -- four-page overview of the 2002 Farm Bill (last updated in 2006).
• USDA Hearings during the summer of 2005 for the 2007 Farm Bill include testimony from many different individuals and organizations.
• The NACD (National Association of Conservation Districts) maintains a listing of transcripts from USDA hearings.
• The 2002 Farm Bill briefing book - contains many details and hearings on the last Farm Bill.

• See Pennsylvania links, or
• Pennsylvania Issues.
• Pennsylvania Farm Statistics

The same three grain giants -- Cargill-Continental Grain, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and Zen Noh (a Japanese company) -- control 81% of the corn exports and 65% of the soybean exports. ADM and Cargill are also among the top four in terminal grain handling, flour milling, soybean crushing and ethanol production.

• Pennsylvania Hunger Action Center

• American Farmland Trust:
  • Overview of Farm Policy recommendations.
  • AFT Agenda 2007 Executive Summary [PDF, 161KB]
  • AFT AFT Agenda 2007 A New Framework and Direction for U.S. Farm Policy [PDF, 248KB]
• Bread for the World (BFW) promotes faith-based advocacy on food and hunger issues. BFW has released a 171-page comprehensive report and study guide on 2007 Farm Bill issues Hunger 2007: Healthy Food, Farms & Families.
• Oxfam America - Agriculture Oxfam is an international relief and development organzation which also provides public policy resources on food and agriculture issues, including the report Fairness in the Fields: A vision for the 2007 Farm Bill.
• Also, search the www.oxfamamerica.org website for other "2007 Farm Bill" resources.
• A Growing Hunger - PBS "NOW" documentary on the consequences of Farm Bill subsidies to cotton growers in the U.S. and Burkina Faso. (audio, podcast, video, and print versions)
• Food First: Institute for Food and Development Policy. Monitors food and agriculture policy in the U.S. and world-wide.
• Community Food Security Coalition
• The Rural Coalition is an alliance of farmers, farmworkers, indigenous, migrant, immigrant and working people across North America. The Rural Coalition work includes public policy issues, and maintains a retail SuperMarket Cooperative website www.supermarketcoop.com.
• National Family Farm Coalition. Monitors national and international issues which affect farmers.
• farmpolicy.com -- a farm policy journal.

• National Council of Churches Eco-Justice Program [www.nccecojustice.org]
  At the Lord's Table: Everyday Thanksgiving
  "This new study, worship, and action resource gives churches the tools to talk about how faith can and should influence food choices. It also provides action steps to engage congregations in progressive food buying practices and in advocacy for a better farm bill in 2007."
  Note: You must register to download resources from this website.
• Presbyterian Sunday School curriculum: Food and Faith: Just Eating?
  www.pcusa.org/hunger/food

U.S. farm policy should...

1. Guarantee the right to food. Every human, created in the image of God, has a right to adequate, safe and nutritious food. Enough for everyone cannot be guaranteed by a food — system that is driven only by the market and motivated only by profit. International institutions and national governments — in cooperation with civil society — must collaborate to promote sustainable agricultural development and community food security.
2. Reward conservation of the environment. Agricultural industrialization has contributed to environmental degradation and created a food system dependent on monocultures, agrochemicals and fossil fuels. Offering incentives to farmers who increase biodiversity, protect soil or preserve water meets current needs without jeopardizing the needs of future generations.
3. Promote sustainable small-scale farms. Unregulated agribusiness concentration, in which a few multinational corporations set crop prices as well as food costs, has perpetuated poverty and led to loss of livelihood for farmers worldwide. Promotion of family farms and support for small-scale processing and marketing facilities leads to thriving local economies.
4. Compensate farmers fairly. Agriculture prices should be linked to production costs. Current low commodity prices benefit only agribusiness corporations and hide social and environmental costs. Farmers — including those who are women, people of color or beginning farmers — should have access to land and credit, and farmworkers should have access to worker protections and adequate pay.
5. Allow developing countries to protect their farmers. While trade can contribute to economic development, the export-oriented decisions forced on developing countries by international institutions and trade agreements have not, by and large, met the needs of impoverished communities. In general, the principle of food sovereignty — which discourages exports until all in a region are fed, and limits imports of products already grown locally — should guide farm policy.
6. Recognize the roots of true security. The current food and agriculture system, from seed to shelf, is highly dependent on fossil fuels. Disruptions in energy supplies or global transportation can rapidly lead to food shortages, as Hurricane Katrina demonstrated. Producing, processing and marketing food closer to where people live — localizing our food system — will reduce oil dependency and increase food security for all.