Farm Bill

What's the first image that comes to mind when I say "Farm Bill ?" Farmers in overalls driving tractors or brandishing pitchforks, converging on the Capitol, maybe? Today's reality is that the policies embodied in the Farm Bill, which is renewed by Congress every five years, and is currently in Conference Committee having its final details "hashed" out before it goes to our President for his signature, impact our daily lives in very real ways, so the corporate lobbyists for the food industry and corporate farm interests would just as soon you keep that outdated image of today's farming environment in your mind! Perhaps you're already aware that the Food Stamps and School Lunch programs fall within this bill's provisions, but were you aware that it also has a huge impact on land and wetlands conservation efforts, as well as the cows that go into a Wendy's single burger with cheese? As Michael Pollan points out in this piece on the current Farm Bill, it really should be called the Food Bill, and it has a huge impact on what we eat.

If you're interested in learning more about the Farm Bill's impact, and want to take action by e-mailing conference committee members in support of sustainable policies, you can sign up for the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture's e-mail alerts here. The American Farmland Trust has another good overview of why the Farm Bill is an important issue, even to urban dwellers like ourselves.