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On Freedom and the Farm Bill

by Leah Koenig · July 4th, 2007

In honor of Independence Day, here’s a short excerpt from a longer NY Times Op-ed, “Red State Welfare,” by Tim Egan.

“Every five years or so Congress drafts a farm bill. The last farm bill was a masterpiece of Soviet-style goals and giveaways signed by that faux-rancher who likes to show off his cowboy boots, President Bush.

This massive piece of legislation could be a blueprint for rural America. But it has become a spoils system where the congressmen-turned-lobbyists make sure that their clients get triple-figure checks for growing things that the nation already has in surplus.
This year, things are different. It’s not their farm bill anymore. It is quickly becoming a food bill, a design for the American diet, possibly the worst in the industrial world. Budget hawks, nutritionists, small farmers and big farmers who grow fruits and vegetables without subsidies, alternative energy advocates and rural renaissance types — all are ready to do battle over the new plan.

The farm bill sets the rules for the American food system and helps to subsidize obesity. It rewards growers of big commodity crops like corn, soybeans and wheat — the foundation of our junk food nation. So, a bag of highly processed orange puff balls with no nutritional value is cheaper than a tomato or a peach. Wonder why.

The reformists, by and large, are not trying to get in on the gravy train. They want to revitalize rural America, to encourage farmers’ markets, contribute to environmental health and to make it easier for poor people to buy fresh fruits and vegetables.

Read the full piece at The New York Times.

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6 Responses to “On Freedom and the Farm Bill”

Aliza Says:
July 4th, 2007 at 10:40 am
the article is only available on TimesSelect as of several days ago (I only know this off-hand because I wanted to put it in our weekly farm bill update…the full text is available here: http://www.chefann.com/blog/?p=765
Anthony Says:
July 7th, 2007 at 8:22 am
Leah, thanks for posting the excellent article from the New York Times. I am truly impressed by the wide range of support from constituents for healthy/local food issues in the 2007 Farm Bill. Many more city dwellers are waking up and realizing that this is an important piece of legislation for all of us.
As Senator Harkin, Chairman of the Agriculture Committee, said in the New York Times on July 4th, “This is not just a farm bill. It’s a food bill,and Americans who eat want a stake in it.”
The challenge is to get the focused attention and commitment of enough like-minded Congressmen and Senators for the reform package. The coming weeks on Capitol Hill will be critical in this regard.
I am focusing my work on this effort through http://www.healthyfarmbill.org
Lara De Ann Says:
July 7th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
How long ago did we live in a world where the people living in it had a say about community rules and how we could live together in more harmonious ways. It is strange to live on a planet where people are controlled by a select few people who make the rules for everyone. This would be okay if those few select people were like Moses or the Dalai Lama. But, the people making decisions for the world are waiting to get into Kindergarten while so much of the world has already graduated from college and on their way to being more spiritualy and evironmentally conscious. It is not about taking people out of the government, it is about allowing those who live in the community to have a fair share in the making of the rules, regardless of how much money they have. Just living in a community should be reason enough to contribute to the greater whole. One day the young students who are more progressive will also be more aggressive with their words and their passions for a Peaceful Planet, then the meek shall inherit the earth and the ones that are corrupt in our government will not be behind bars, they will be rehabilitated by having them work on Organic Farms, letting the Earth heal their unloved sides.
Lara De Ann Says:
July 7th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
My World Peace Necklace, at http://www.EmpireOfTheSunspirit.com , is a great way to show the world that we care about other people, besides just ourselves. It has symbols of the world’s major religions and in the middle is a charm that says ALL ONE held by three dolphins. It came to me as a vision years ago. We can share with others, even if they believe differently. As long as people are Kind, does it really matter what form their God takes?
Leah Koenig Says:
July 8th, 2007 at 8:51 am
Thanks for the link Aliza!

Anthony – you’re right, it’s amazing to see the amount of attention people are (finally) paying to the farm/food bill. Thanks for passing along the website.

Thanks Lara for your beautiful vision for the future.