About Giving Health Care to Undocumented Workers

by: Jill Richardson

Sat Sep 12, 2009 at 11:17:37 AM PDT

They pick our grapes and our tomatoes and they process our meat. They work on dairy farms and they grow and pick our strawberries. They work for low wages and live in abysmal conditions. In return, we get cheap food. Part of the cost of that food should be a living wage and health care for the people who grow it, pick it, and process it. Of course, if we did that, the food might not be so cheap. But without paying a living wage, we are all complicit in causing human suffering. Pretending that it is the undocumented workers' fault for coming here ignores the fact that we are part of the system that employs them and oppresses them.

The real criminals in this system are those who employ the undocumented workers. If you don't want "illegals" in this country, crack down on the illegal employers. If there weren't jobs to be had, no one would come here illegally. But as long as there are jobs, as long as we are benefiting from their labor, we owe them basic human rights like health coverage in return for their work.

Of course, extending health benefits to undocumented workers isn't politically possible right now. It's still a crapshoot whether it's politically possible to insure and care for American citizens. I'm all for starting with the low-hanging fruit, which is in this case extending coverage via a public option to people who are in this country legally. Sadly, it doesn't seem to be that "low hanging" but I'm still reaching for it.  Actually reforming immigration will have to wait for another day. In the meantime, I'm grateful that my food comes primarily from people I know, who receive a living wage for their labor. I don't want to be complicit in a system of oppression.

President Obama Talks Local Food

by: PhillyFoodFeed

Thu Aug 20, 2009 at 21:49:17 PM PDT

When it comes to food, one of the things that we are doing is working with school districts. And the child nutrition legislation is going to be coming up. We provide an awful lot of school lunches out there and -- and reimburse local school districts for school-lunch programs. Let's figure out how can we get some fresh fruits and vegetables in the mix. Because sometimes you go into schools and -- you know what the menu is, you know? It's French fries, Tater Tots, hot dogs, pizza...it turns out that that food's a lot cheaper, because of the distributions that we've set up. And so what we've got to do is to change how we think about, for example, getting local farmers connected to school districts, because that would benefit the farmers, delivering fresh produce, but right now they just don't have the distribution mechanisms set up.

OK Mr. President! Sounds great! The intention is there! So let's see what we can do about setting up this infrastructure. The other day I wrote about the recent law passed in Illinois that mandates local food purchases from state agencies to the tune of 20% of all purchases by 2020. We already have a National Student Lunch Program, among other federal programs that subsidize student meals at schools and other non-profit agencies. Why not a national law that mirrors the Illinois statute? A mandate that a certain percent of lunches in each state under the federal program come from foods produced locally within each respective state? Perhaps it could be an amendment to the Energy Bill currently being knocked around Washington. There can only be a reduction of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere if this food doesn't have to travel as far. Furthermore, creating a local food infrastructure can help create jobs that can't be exported. Local fresh foods for children? Jobs? Sounds good to me.  

Obama Connects Food to Health

by: Jill Richardson

Thu Aug 20, 2009 at 14:21:57 PM PDT

I have a two-part question.  One is choice, the choice that we make to eat the foods that we eat and the lifestyle that we choose to engage in.  And the second part, your family is very fit.  What do you and the First Lady and the girls do to encourage physical fitness, and what can we -- not the government, not private corporations -- do to encourage activity in the public-school system and in young people?

I've got a problem with the way this question is worded. There's no good substitute for the term "food choices" but they aren't always choices. You need to eat and that's not a choice. Poor people choose not to eat healthy food just like I choose not to buy a Rolls Royce. When the good stuff is never an option in the first place, how can you call a person's diet a "choice"? Second, if the government is (in part) responsible for the problems in our food system, then they also need to be part of the solution. We can't do it without government change. Period.

That said, Obama answers the question very well (below). Like me, he connects school lunch to children's health, and he talks about bringing local farm products into schools for the kids to eat. So now let's see if he can walk his talk.

Is Obama's Plan for Tackling Hunger Just Another Chance for Big Ag and Biotech to Cash In?

by: Jill Richardson

Tue Aug 11, 2009 at 05:42:22 AM PDT

Much of the piece follows the money and connections behind Obama's current policy to "help" Africa by helping Monsanto. It's not just a money and influence problem, it's also an ideology problem. And it's really tragic because real lives are at stake here.

Obama's Speech in Ghana

by: Jill Richardson

Sun Jul 12, 2009 at 08:00:00 AM PDT

A Preliminary Response to Obama's Speech Tomorrow

by: Jill Richardson

Fri Jul 10, 2009 at 19:48:43 PM PDT

Effective food security actions must be coupled with adaptation and mitigation measures in relation to climate change, sustainable management of water, land, soil and other natural resources, including the protection of biodiversity.

That much is good, but sadly, they also call for more free trade, even after the ample amount of proof we already have that free trade policies (particularly coupled with the government subsidies in developed countries) harm food security rather than helping it. Their failure - and Obama's failure - to recognize the problems caused by free trade is nothing short of tragic.

So where's the good part I spoke of? Well, the U.S. is shifting from a "give a man a fish" strategy to a "teach a man to fish" strategy. Instead of shipping American-grown food to the developed world, we will focus on helping needy countries produce enough to feed themselves. And that much is fantastic - almost.

The problem is - and this is a big problem - the U.S. has no interest in taking the scientific, peer-reviewed, global consensus approach to global agriculture. We'd prefer to go a different route, one which has been dismissed by experts but embraced by multinational corporations.

More below...

The Obamas Get It: Part of Health Care Reform is Prevention - And Diet!

by: Jill Richardson

Wed Jun 17, 2009 at 03:25:05 AM PDT

The second step that we can all agree on is to invest more in preventive care so we can avoid illness and disease in the first place...

It also means cutting down on all the junk food that's fueling an epidemic of obesity - (applause) - which puts far too many Americans, young and old, at greater risk of costly, chronic conditions. That's a lesson Michelle and I have tried to instill in our daughters. As some of you know, we started a White House vegetable garden. I say "we" generously, because Michelle has done most of the work. (Laughter.) That's a lesson that we should work with local school districts to incorporate into their school lunch programs.

Michelle Obama (in a separate speech) also spoke about school lunches:

But government also has a role to play in this, as well.  For so many kids, subsidized breakfasts and lunches are their primary meals of the day.  It's what they count on.  It's where they get most of their nutrition.

And the USDA's National School Lunch Program serves approximately 30 million meals each year to low-income* children.  And because these meals are the main source of consistent nourishment for these kids, we need to make sure we offer them the healthiest meals possible.

So to make sure that we give all our kids a good start to their day and to their future, we need to improve the quality and nutrition of the food served in schools.  We're approaching the first big opportunity to move this to the top of the agenda with the upcoming reauthorization of the child nutrition programs.  In doing so, we can go a long way towards creating a healthier generation for our kids.

I'm glad the Obamas are for healthier school lunches, but if they wants to achieve that, Barack specifically needs to take the same kind of leadership on that that he's taking on health care reform. We need him out there making televised speeches to the School Nutrition Association about spending more - maybe even double - on each child's lunch. We need him to talk about not starving our schools of funds so they look to the lunch programs as money makers and serve the kids junk to get them to buy more food. And we need him to talk about how it's unrealistic to expect our nation to eat better if we aren't even producing the right amount of healthy foods in the first place.

If every single American wanted to eat the recommended amount of fruits & veggies every day, they couldn't - we don't grow enough. Kind of an obvious problem that we need to fix, huh? There's a bill (H.R.800) that would address some of the problem by allowing commodity farmers to grow fruits and veggies on their land. Right now, if you grow commodities that receive federal subsidies and you want to rotate your crops, you're not allowed to grow fruits and veggies on that land. This bill would allow you to do so. Not so surprisingly, it's supported by legislators from the midwest from both major political parties - and California farm groups like Blue Diamond Growers are out lobbying against it because they don't want any competition from midwestern farmers.

UPDATE: Ali from Gastronomalies just called my attention to this Maureen Dowd article on the Obamas' mixed messages about food. When they are in front of kids and doctors, they are for healthy eating. But they don't hesitate to take high profile trips to burger joints too. It reminds me of my friend's Dad who spent a lifetime telling my friend about the evils of pot... until one day he called him to ask, "Have you seen my stash? I can't find it." The problem isn't so much Barack and Michelle as it is our culture that views eating junk as being down to earth and fun.

Justice For Black Farmers At Last?

by: Jill Richardson

Thu May 07, 2009 at 04:27:43 AM PDT

According to the Guardian, the so-called Pigford class action lawsuit, which alleged that the USDA routinely denied black farmers loans and assistance that went to whites, was settled in 1999 with $1 billion paid to 16,000 farmers. The problem is that many other farmers have since come forward, saying they were unaware of the damages owed to them and missed filing deadlines as a result.

Obama came into office promising justice to these farmers, as did Vilsack. But the initial $100 million offered to the farmers was seen as an insult - an amount so small that each farmer would hardly get any money at all. There are about 65,000 farmers who are owed money by the USDA. The new offer of $1.25 billion is much closer to the amount needed to settle the case, but it may run as high as $2-$3 billion in the end. That's why Boyd called this "a good step in the negotiating process." The solution to the problem may come in the form of a bill introduced by Senators Grassley (R-IA) and Hagen (D-NC) this week which would "allow access to an unlimited judgment fund at the Department of Treasury to pay successful claims" instead of offering a capped amount to the farmers.

Sampler Platter

by: Jill Richardson

Thu Apr 30, 2009 at 10:00:00 AM PDT

• Kellogg's Mini Wheats are not brain food. Officially. Thanks, Federal Trade Commission. Now can you crack down on those obnoxious Function Drinks and their outrageous label claims?

• Natasha Chart wrote up a fantastic piece about why the three sisters (corn, beans, and squash) are so darn nifty.

• Civil Eats writes about Obama's First 100 Days They give the Obamas a B- as a couple, but Michelle is the A student between the two of them when it comes to food and agriculture. (Obama Foodorama also rates Obama's first 100 days. Both articles are worth a read, IMO.)

• Does nanotechnology belong in organics? Broadly speaking, Consumers Union says no, although they note that "it all depends on what one means by nanotechnology."

• Eating Liberally interviewed one of my favorite people ever, Tim LaSalle, in their article The Doctor with a Dirty Prescription to Purge Our Bodies and the Planet. Which reminds me, I saw an awesome bumper sticker that calls on us to stop treating our soil like dirt. I totally want one!!!

• Ha!!! Marion Nestle discusses whether stevia is really natural. You see, stevia is a plant that IS sweet but it has its own flavor. I like using its leaves in teas or curries, but you certainly wouldn't make a batch of cookies using a bunch of ground up stevia leaves. Instead, companies have to "fuss with it" (as Nestle puts it) to cover up the stevia taste if they want to use it as a sweetener. And then is the resulting product still "natural"?

• Smart Money shows the cost of 100 calories at fast food joints. More like Dumb Money if that's how people are planning their food budgets. Hat tip to Marion Nestle.

• Lucky Seattle residents have a new ferry farm stand to look forward to. Commuting just got a lot healthier :)

• Oh Michele Bachmann. Who will we have to laugh at after we vote you out of office in 2010? Her latest is that CO2 isn't bad because it's a natural byproduct of nature.

• Grist examines the differences between soy milk, rice milk, and hemp milk.

• I was glad to read this post from the Internet Food Association that says avocado oil can withstand high heat. Around here, eating local means eating avocado oil. I've visited Bella Vado and watched how they made theirs. Mmm!

• Grossed out Madison, WI students boycott school lunch. Way to go, kids! When the grown-ups fail you, take matters into your own hands!

Obama's First 100 Days: How's He Doing on Food?

by: Jill Richardson

Tue Apr 28, 2009 at 16:03:08 PM PDT

My overall impression of Obama comes down to a statement made by a blogger on DailyKos during the campaign: Under Obama, the U.S. will be a kinder, gentler global hegemony. Let's go through his plan to "Ensure Economic Opportunity for Family Farmers" point by point.

Last day for comments on closing corporate farm subsidy loophole

by: desmoinesdem

Sun Apr 05, 2009 at 15:43:38 PM PDT

President Barack Obama promised during his budget speech to a joint session of Congress in February to "end direct payments to large agribusinesses that don't need them." Food Democracy Now's action alert noted,

Today's current subsidy system allows large corporate farms to take advantage of subsidy loopholes that place independent family farmers at a serious competitive disadvantage.

Because of loosely written management and labor requirements in the Farm Bill, corporate farmers are allowed to use multiple partnerships, passive investors and sham "paper" farms to funnel huge multimillion dollar annual subsidy payments to corporate entities that don't do any real work on the farm, but use the ownership as an entitlement to bilk payments from the government.

As a result, giant corporate millionaire "farmers" are driving independent family farmers off the land, using their ill-gotten gains, supplied courtesy of taxpayers, to outbid small, midsized and new farmers who want to buy or rent new crop ground.

Food Democracy Now provided a sample e-mail that you can cope and paste into your own message. I've posted it after the jump, and you can also find it here. If you can put the message in your own words, that's wonderful, but any comment you can send by the close of business on Monday is better than nothing.

However you write the main text of your message, put this in the subject line:

Comment on Farm Program Payment Limitation Rule, Federal Register, Vol. 74, No. 23, February 5, 2009

Sampler Platter

by: Jill Richardson

Sat Apr 04, 2009 at 12:59:21 PM PDT

• Carlos Santana wants Obama to legalize pot. And I'm sorry, Mr. President, but if legendary rockstar Carlos Santana wants you to do something, you do it. So - you'll be pushing that bill through Congress after the recess, then?

• Several large biodiesel producers aren't making any fuel. (Note to readers: If your car runs on biodiesel, you can get it converted to run on SVO. McDonalds - and every Chinese restaurant in America - is STILL making fuel for you.)

• This Blago article has nothing to do with food but it is soooo funny I'm including it anyway. "Hey, you've just been indicted on federal racketeering charges, what are you going to do now?" Blago went to Disney World!

• Alternet gives us 8 ways to join the local food movement. And I'm proposing #9: Blog on this site :)

• Remember that NYT article about the food revolution? Tom Laskawy weighs in with his opinions. I called it a hit piece, he calls it a reality check. Interesting.

• Natasha got to see Food, Inc and she has a nice write up on it. I am sooo jealous. I've only seen a few clips.

• A Kansan writes about the local food movement in Kansas.

• Civil Eats features an interview with Gary Nabhan, author of Where Our Food Comes From.

• From Grist: CDC finds rocket fuel chemical in baby formula. Newsflash to the CDC: The same chemical, perchlorate, is also found in cow's milk and even human breast milk. Houston, we have a problem.

• Obama Foodorama reports on the Obamas' meal by Jamie Oliver at the G20 summit. As she points out, the simplicity of the meal was a good choice - as opposed to a previous meeting in which world leaders discussed global poverty and hunger and then gorged on an 8-course feast. Can I just say here that I have a little crush on Jamie Oliver?

• The Ethicurean features a piece arguing that the cost of local meat is too high. The argument presented is that when a farmer raises only a few animals, they compensate for their lack of volume with high mark-ups. The author believes that these farmers should raise more animals and charge lower prices. If this can be accomplished humanely and sustainably, I'm for it.

Sampler Platter

by: Jill Richardson

Sat Mar 28, 2009 at 16:58:29 PM PDT

• Looking for sugar on an ingredient label? Fooducate provides a loooong list of synonyms for sugar and other sweeteners.

• No surprise here, but palm oil development may threaten the Amazon. Very bad news. (h/t Natasha)

More below...

A White House Garden's Nice, but How About Funding Farm to School?

by: Jill Richardson

Fri Mar 20, 2009 at 06:00:00 AM PDT

I can't help but get swept up in the excitement over the symbolism of the garden as well as the publicity it will bring to gardening and to eating fresh, local food. However, with Obama's position as the most powerful man in the world, I'd like to see him do more. Five years ago, Congress authorized a National Farm to School Program - but failed to fund it. Five years have gone by with no change. Now a major piece of child nutrition legislation is going through Congress so the timing is perfect. With his garden, Obama will bring change to the few lucky youngsters from Bancroft Elementary, but what about the rest of the nation?

Obamas bringing back the victory garden

by: desmoinesdem

Thu Mar 19, 2009 at 17:55:30 PM PDT

On Friday, Michelle Obama will begin digging up a patch of White House lawn to plant a vegetable garden, the first since Eleanor Roosevelt's victory garden in World War II. There will be no beets (the president doesn't like them) but arugula will make the cut.

While the organic garden will provide food for the first family's meals and formal dinners, its most important role, Mrs. Obama said, will be to educate children about healthful, locally grown fruit and vegetables at time when obesity has become a national concern.

In an interview in her office, Mrs. Obama said, "My hope is that through children, they will begin to educate their families and that will, in turn, begin to educate our communities."

Twenty-three fifth graders from Bancroft Elementary School in Washington will help her dig up the soil for the 1,100-square-foot plot in a spot visible to passers-by on E Street. (It's just below the Obama girls' swing set.) Students from the school, which has had a garden since 2001, will also help plant, harvest and cook the vegetables, berries and herbs.

Almost the entire Obama family, including the president, will pull weeds, "whether they like it or not," Mrs. Obama said laughing. "Now Grandma, my mom, I don't know." Her mother, she said, would probably sit back and say: "Isn't that lovely. You missed a spot."

I have little to add, but I wanted to bring this to the attention of the La Vida Locavore community. Thanks are due to Michael Pollan for putting this idea forward in an "Open Letter to the Next Farmer in Chief" in the New York Times Sunday Magazine last October. Obama read Pollan's piece and paraphrased points from it in an interview with Time magazine.