About

La Vida Locavore is the blog for anyone whose crazy life includes planting, growing, weeding, fertilizing, raising, picking, harvesting, processing, cooking, baking, making, serving, buying, selling, distributing, transporting, composting, organizing around, lobbying about, writing about, thinking about, talking about, playing with, and eating food!

Notable Diaries

- Recent Congressional Hearings
- 2008 By The Numbers
- The 2007 Ag Census
- Why I Oppose GMOs
- My Visit to Growing Power
- My Trip to a Hog Confinement
- Why We Grow So Much Corn and Soy
- How the Chicken Gets to Your Plate

Politicians To Know

USDA

Senate

Agriculture
Chair: Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
- Max Baucus (D-MT)
- Michael Bennet (D-CO)
- Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
- Bob Casey (D-PA)
- Kent Conrad (D-ND)
- Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
- Tom Harkin (D-IA)
- Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
- Pat Leahy (D-VT)
- Ben Nelson (D-NE)
- Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
- Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
- Thad Cochran (R-MS)
- John Cornyn (R-TX)
- Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
- Mike Johanns (R-NE)
- Dick Lugar (R-IN)
- Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
- Pat Roberts (R-KS)
- John R. Thune (R-SD)

Appropriations
Chair: Daniel Inouye (D-HI)
Ag Sub-Committee
Chair: Herb Kohl (D-WI)
- Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
- Dick Durbin (D-IL)
- Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
- Tom Harkin (D-IA)
- Tim Johnson (D-SD)
- Ben Nelson (D-NE)
- Jack Reed (D-RI)
- Robert Bennett (R-UT)
- Christopher Bond (R-MO)
- Sam Brownback (R-KS)
- Thad Cochran (R-MS)
- Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
- Arlen Specter (R-PA)

Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions
- Chris Dodd (D-CT)

Senate Hunger Caucus

House

Agriculture
Chair: B Collin Peterson (D-MN)
V. Chair: B Tim Holden (D-PA)
B Joe Baca (D-CA)
- John Boccieri (D-OH)
B* Leonard Boswell (D-IA)
- Bobby Bright (D-AL)
B* Dennis Cardoza (D-CA)
- Travis Childers (D-MS)
B Jim Costa (D-CA)
- Henry Cuellar (D-TX)
- Kathy Dahlkemper (D-PA)
B Brad Ellsworth (D-IN)
- Debbie Halvorson (D-IL)
B Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD)
- Steve Kagen (D-WI)
- Larry Kissell (D-NC)
B Frank Kratovil (D-MD)
- Betsy Markey (D-CO)
B Jim Marshall (D-GA)
P Eric Massa (D-NY)
B Mike McIntyre (D-NC)
- Walt Minnick (D-ID)
B Earl Pomeroy (D-ND)
- Mark Schauer (D-MI)
- Kurt Schrader (D-OR)
B David Scott (D-GA)
B Zachary Space (D-OH)
- Timothy Walz (D-MN)
- Frank Lucas (R-OK)
- Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
- K. Michael Conaway (R-TX)
- Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE)
- Virginia Foxx (R-NC)
- Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)
- Sam Graves (R-MO)
- Timothy Johnson (R-IL)
- Steve King (R-IA)
- Robert Latta (R-OH)
- Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO)
- Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)
- Jerry Moran (R-KS)
- Randy Neugebauer (R-TX)
- Phil Roe (R-TN)
- Mike Rogers (R-AL)
- Jean Schmidt (R-OH)
- Adrian Smith (R-NE)
- Glenn Thompson (R-PA)
*=House Organic Caucus member
B=Blue Dog Democrat

Appropriations
Chair: Dave Obey (D-WI)
Ag Sub-Committee
Chair: P Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
- Sanford Bishop (D-GA)
* Allen Boyd (D-FL)
- Lincoln Davis (D-TN)
*P Sam Farr (D-CA)
*P Maurice D. Hinchey (D-NY)
P Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)
P Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
- Jack Kingston (R-GA)
- Rodney Alexander (R-LA)
- Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO)
* Tom Latham (R-IA)
*=House Organic Caucus member

P=Congressional Progressive Caucus

Education and Labor
P Chair: George Miller (D-CA)
- Jason Altmire (D-PA)
- Robert Andrews (D-NJ)
- Timothy Bishop (D-NY)
P Yvette Clarke (D-NY)
- Joe Courtney (D-CT)
- Susan Davis (D-CA)
P Marcia Fudge (D-OH)
P Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
P Phil Hare (D-IL)
- Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX)
P Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
- Rush Holt (D-NJ)
- Dale Kildee (D-MI)
P Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)
P Dave Loebsack (D-IA)
- Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY)
P Donald Payne (D-NJ)
- Jared Polis (D-CO)
- Robert Scott (D-VA)
- Joe Sestak (D-PA)
- Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH)
P John Tierney (D-MA)
- Dina Titus (D-NV)
- Paul Tonko (D-NY)
P Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)
- David Wu (D-OR)
- Buck McKeon (R-CA)
- Judy Biggert (R-IL)
- Rob Bishop (R-UT)
- Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
- Michael Castle (R-DE)
- Vernon Ehlers (R-MI)
- Luis F Fortuno (R-PR)
- Brett Guthrie (R-KY)
- Peter Hoekstra (R-MI)
- Duncan D. Hunter (R-CA)
- John Kline (R-MN)
- Kenny Marchant (R-TX)
- Tom McClintock (R-CA)
- Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)
- Thomas Petri (R-WI)
- Phil Roe (R-TN)
- Todd Russell Platts (R-PA)
- Tom Price (R-GA)
- Mark Souder (R-IN)
- GT Thompson (R-PA)
- Joe Wilson (R-SC)
P=Congressional Progressive Caucus

House Organic Caucus
Congressional Progressive Caucus

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About People Who Are "Anti-Farmer"

by: Jill Richardson

Thu May 21, 2009 at 19:30:00 PM PDT

I love tuning in to "Big Ag" websites, radio shows, conferences... pretty much whatever I can get my hands on. I want to see what they are doing or thinking. Now, the corporate types are obvious. I went to business school. I understand that they are trying to maximize profits and generally greenwash or something-wash everything they are doing to make it all more palatable to us. I get it. But the big surprise to me was the attitude of the farmers. They think we're "anti-farmer."

Me? Anti-farmer? I always say that farmers and nurses are my favorite people in the world. I love farmers. I could kiss their hands for doing all of the hard work I am too wimpy and too unskilled to do myself in order to grow food that I so love eating.

And I admire them for the wide array of skillsets required just to survive in their jobs, from knowledge of the biology of plants, livestock, and bugs to ecology and weather patterns to business skills to politics to mechanical knowledge. It's just dizzying what somebody has to know to be a successful farmer - and how much money the have to juggle in order to make a profit! You have to know more than a little bit about business and economics if you're going to invest millions of dollars in equipment and crop inputs each year and expect not to end up in a bankruptcy court.

Yet they think we're anti-farmer. Anyone who wants to tax agriculture for carbon emissions is anti-farmer. Anyone who says one bad word about ethanol is anti-farmer. Anyone who thinks veal crates should be outlawed is anti-farmer. And not only that, but sometimes they seem to think that the environmentalists and animal rights groups PRIMARY MOTIVE is hatred of farmers, and they are only using efforts to combat climate change or cruelty to livestock as a means to that end.

And to that I just want to say: Who in their right mind would hate farmers just for the sake of it? Seriously. And for those farmers who DON'T care about climate change: What the hell do you think happens to your farm when the water dries up (or floods you) and the temperature changes and the oil runs out? We're all on the same side here. We all want a planet that can sustain human life with vibrant farms and healthy food. And no, we don't hate farmers. We just hate - or maybe strongly dislike - ignorant ones.

Jill Richardson :: About People Who Are "Anti-Farmer"

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About People Who Are "Anti-Farmer" | 2 comments

Dead on Jill, (4.00 / 6)

as usual great post.

It comes as no surprise that the agro-chem industry is using their communication channels to convince people that want healthy, tasty, carbon friendly food to be 'anti-farmer.'

Locavores are not only pro-farmer, we'd like to know them personally! We'd like to meet you at the market, enquire as to how you are doing and support you in supporting your family. We want you to be able to pass that farm on for generations. We want you not to die prematurely from exposure to doses of chemicals that are proven dangerous to you, and we don't want your farms turned into dust bowls...

Don't believe the hype. We have the same interests. We want you to have a livelyhood and we want healthy food. It's simple.

hyperlocavore.com

a global yardsharing community

because everyone loves a homegrown tomato!

by: hyperlocavore @ Thu May 21, 2009 at 22:34:33 PM CDT

I am a farmer (4.00 / 4)

But because I grow produce organically (oops, can't use the O word because I am not certified organic any more...) and I don't grow corn, wheat, soy, feed lot cattle, factory farmed swine or poultry nor own a tractor or combine they do not consider me and my husband "real" farmers.

As a matter of fact, it has been only in the last 5 years or so that my farming neighbors have not looked at what we are doing as totally anti-farmer.

I guess watching one or both of us out in our fields virtually every days 12 months a year doing a lot of hard and sophisticated work is beginning to change their minds. They now know that us natural farmers are very dedicated and after 15 years are not going away

by: Boulder Belt @ Fri May 22, 2009 at 09:58:25 AM CDT