Farm Bill 2007

Congress is about to vote on a new Farm Bill.

The Farm Bill is a $90 billion dollar collection of laws, policies, and legislation that effects agriculture production, food distribution, and food security. It’s wide-ranging, and governs our entire food system. Congress established the first Farm Bill in 1949 and renews it every 5 years. The current bill, Farm Bill 2002 is about to expire. Farm Bill 2007 will be up before the Congress in just two weeks.

I can almost hear the collective yawn at the words “Farm Bill”. But before you hit the “back” button, keep in mind that the Farm Bill affects everything from what you pay for soft drinks to the future of family farms. Farm subsidies and environmental stewardship are just pieces of the Farm Bill, but important pieces to pay attention to.

Why?

Because they directly affects you, your health, and the health of the environment by determining the quality of food that is available and affordable, and governing the way agricultural land is used.

But shouldn’t we reduce farm subsidies overall since we’re overproducing farm products anyway and depressing the world-wide wheat economy while simultaneously bankrupting the US government?

Good question. Let me see if I can shed some light on the issue.

Actually, while we are overproducing some commodity crops (wheat, corn, soybeans), this isn’t the case for all produce. For example, if every American were to take the advice of the USDA and the American Dietetic Association and actually consume the recommended amount of fruits and veggies each day (5-9 servings) there would not be enough fruits and vegetables to go around. This is because farmers can’t make money growing fruits and vegetables.

The problem is not that we subsidize farmers…Western countries do subsidize farmers…it ensures food security for the population at large. Rather, it is what we are currently choosing to subsidize…big mono-crop farms growing conventional corn, wheat, and soybeans.

So…the taxpayers pay taxes to subsidize crops that are overproduced so that Archer Daniel Midlands (ADM) and other huge multinational agribusinesses have access to “cheap” (not really…we are paying for it on the front end) raw materials (again–corn, wheat, soybeans) to make processed foods that make us obese and diseased. Actually, for every $1 of profit ADM makes on corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup, taxpayers pay $10…for every $1 of profit ADM makes on ethanol, taxpayers pay $30. Ethanol appears sustainable only because taxpayers don’t realize how much they pay for it…and ADM wants to make sure we don’t find out.

A bit of background might be of help:
Originally, farm bills were designed to support farmers by establishing a minimum price that farmers would receive for their crops. To assure this target price, the farm bill also included limits on how much of any one crop a farmer could produce.   In addition, the Soil Conservation Act, a part of the Farm Bill, helped to avert overproduction and the resulting soil erosion by supporting farmers in letting their most environmentally sensitive land lay fallow. The initial farm bills protected farmers and ensured the survival of the family farm (that represented almost all the farms in 1949) in a weak market due to overproduction, and it protected the environment by ensuring crop diversification.

Over the past 40 years, powerful lobbying groups representing big agri-business have worked to dismantle many of the provisions of the original bill. Many of the price supports and limits on production have been eliminated. As the prices have fallen due to over-production, profit margins have been reduced, forcing farmers to produce more and more of the commodity crops to survive. The crazy thing is that it actually costs farmers more to produce these commodity crops than they earn in direct sales. That’s right; they lose money growing commodity crops.  Thank goodness for subsidies, right?

So, in response to the concern about subsidies, I would say that having a Farm Bill that supports these huge agribusinesses (aka: corporate welfare) and commodity crops contributes to the bankrupting of America, taking a toll on our personal, financial, and environmental health via:

• Cheap processed foods which increase our risk of obesity and chronic degenerative diseases.
• Healthy foods which are too expensive for the average American to afford.
• Taxpayers supporting corporate welfare.
• Mono-crop farming of commodity crops which decreases crop diversity, depletes the soil of essential nutrients, and increases the need for additional fertilizers and pesticides.

Ensuring the survival of small, local, and organic farming is essential to a secure, safe, affordable, healthy food supply.

What to do?
Visit Environmental Working Group and sign their petition to Congress urging fair funding for organics.

Also at their site you can:
-Read the July 3rd New York Times article, “The Debate Over Subsidizing Snacks”.
-Review the proposed Farm Bill 2007
-Check out the Farm Subsidy Database to see what farmers around here (or anywhere) are getting in subsidies.

As Congress prepares to deliberate, you can also contact the members of the Committees on Agriculture and/or your Senators and Representatives directly:
• House Committee on Agriculture
• Senate Committee on Agriculture
• Your Senators
• Your Representatives

Food for thought – pun intended.

Here’s to our health –now and in the future,
Jess