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!
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)
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
The House Ag Committee held a hearing on Federal Nutrition Programs on Monday of this week (January 25, 2010). There were two panels. This diary covers the first panel, which mostly focuses on food stamps (SNAP) and the USDA and other agencies' efforts to increase participation among those who are eligible.
Panel 1 Lisa Pino, Deputy Administrator
USDA's Food and Nutrition Service
Christine Webb-Curtis, Chief
California Department of Social Services, Food Stamp Branch
Nancy Swanson, Director
Human Services Transitional Assistance Department of San Bernardino, CA
This is the second diary on the April 23 hearing on food safety at the USDA. My apologies for not posting it sooner... it's a long story that involves my internet breaking, but this is still timely as the Ag committee has yet to do anything with a food safety bill. Note that the food safety bill I've been writing about recently covers the FDA only and is currently in the House Energy & Commerce Committee. The House Ag Committee, on the other hand, has jurisdiction over the USDA. Several food safety bills have been assigned to their committee so far but there's no talk yet of anything passing or even moving forward.
The first diary covered the testimony from the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). This diary covers the second panel, which consisted of a number of factory farm representatives. You can basically skip reading what they actually had to say if you want because it can all be summed up as: We're so glad to have the safest food supply in the world and we're committed to food safety. The government's regulatory system is very strict already and it's working - we don't need stricter regulation. Please fully fund the USDA and the FDA. And really, no more regulation.
Hard plastic drinking bottles leach the endocrine disruptor BPA. So says a Harvard study. Let me remind you that there is an anti-BPA bill in Congress right now, cleverly named the Ban Poisonous Additives (BPA) Act. Write your Congresscritters to ask them to co-sponsor it!
Really, I just like the title of this one: The House Aghghghghg! Committee. That's exactly how I feel about the House Ag Committee and it's asshat chairman, Rep. Peterson (D-MN). As Tom Philpott puts it, Peterson is declaring Waxman-Markey is mine, all mine. He wants to derail the Waxman-Markey climate change bill unless the EPA stops using sound science to assess the environmental impacts of ethanol. Of course, if you listen to what Public Citizen has to say about the current state of Waxman-Markey, it might be so watered down already that Peterson isn't really making much of a threat.
Here is a really brilliant point: How many people out there pay the equivalent of $10/gal for bottled water (which is free from the tap) and then say they can't afford organic milk?
Civil Eats takes a fantastic look at how farmworkers are treated. A Slow Food chapter actually highlighted the issue by going as a group to have lunch with some farmworkers. What a great idea!
I am very curious about the film The Garden, about the fight to preserve South Central LA's community garden. It sounds absolutely amazing. If you haven't gotten a chance to see it yet, read a Q&A with the director here.
This picture just drives me nuts. It's a supermarket trying to pretend its a farmers market. Sort of.
Well holy shit. Did you hear about the salmonella/pistachio recall? Turns out Rep. Dennis Cardoza was one of the victims. So that means that at least ONE member of Congress REALLY GETS IT about the need to update food safety laws.
Many people involved in the local foods movements are aware of NAIS, the National Animal ID System, which, if implemented in full as a mandatory program, will require anyone, large or small, commercial, homesteader, or hobbyist, to register with their state, ID their animals either by group or individually, and report all animal movements to privately or publicly held databases. Large producers will get to ID and report by lot, small producers, hobbyists and homesteader will get to ID and report individual animals and their movements. It's all going to cost, both in money and in time. There will be mistakes made and it isn't going to be the magic bullet in the event that a foreign animal disease (FAD) is found in the USA, especially not if that FAD happens to be something as potentially devestating as foot and mouth disease (FMD), the boogeyman dujour. Now don't get me wrong, FMD is a very, very bad thing, especially if it ever gets back into this country. It hasn't been here since 1929, Harold knew somone, when he was still in California, who lost his whole herd during that outbreak. If FMD ever gets back into this country we're going to have problems like no body's business, especially if animal movements are still allowed during an outbreak. Which brings me to the topic I'd like to discuss today.
Last week the House Ag Committee held a food safety hearing. Their distinguished guests included a representative from the USDA and a zillion reps from factory farms. Nice, huh? The purpose of the hearing was to examine food safety at the USDA only (not the FDA, which is under the jurisdiction of the Energy and Commerce Committee).
This diary covers the testimony from the USDA, who spoke on the first panel. I will post a follow-up diary with summaries of the testimony from the meat industry.
Congress is back from its recess and that means we might see some progress on food safety bill, particularly in the House. Here's the latest (from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition):
The powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee is busy preparing for a legislative trifecta. On the docket for the coming months are a mega climate change cap and trade bill, health care reform, and food safety reform. The tentative schedule set by Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) calls for subcommittee and full committee consideration of climate change in May and health care reform in June. A half-finished working draft of the cap and trade bill has been in circulation for several weeks. No health care bill has been laid on the table as yet.
Even that much would normally seem overly ambitious. But interspersed between those two mammoth efforts, the Chair also intends to introduce his food safety bill in May, hold hearings, and then in June schedule mark-ups in subcommittee followed by full committee. His intent would be to have the bill out of committee and ready for floor action by the July 4 recess.
As we have previously reported, the bulk of the Chairman's mark will be based primarily on the food sections of H.R. 759, the food and drug safety bill introduced by Representatives Dingell (D-MI), Stupak (D-MI), and Pallone (D-NJ).
Separately, the House Agriculture Committee intends to begin a series of food safety hearings, with a building expectation that individual committee members or perhaps the committee as a whole may want to weigh in on food safety legislation in some fashion before the Energy and Commerce bill reaches the floor of the House. Agriculture Committee member Jim Costa (D-CA), along with seven of his committee colleagues, has introduced the so-called SAFE Feast Act, HR 1332.
The Energy and Commerce Committee has jurisdiction over the Food and Drug Administration, whereas the Agriculture Committee has jurisdiction over USDA. Both agencies control different parts of the food safety regulatory regime.
They also note that the Senate is going with a slower, wait-and-see approach and their actions will likely depend on what the House does first.
I discovered a fun new activity: listening to a Big Ag radio show - particularly the hilarious commercials for various chemicals made by Monsanto. It's called AgriTalk. This week they interviewed House Ag Committee chair Collin Peterson. Here's what he had to say...
Today is the LAST DAY to comment on NAIS, the National Animal ID System. Organic Consumers Association has an excellent action alert you can use to just fill in your name and click submit.
Below, I've pasted the National Sustainable Ag Coalition's newsletter blurb about the NAIS hearing held in the House Ag Committee last week. It did NOT go well, sadly. You can find instructions to send them a piece of your mind here (do this by the end of today as well).
I just sent the following email to Jamie.Mitchell at mail.house dot gov. Please send your own letters BY March 16 (aka MONDAY) with the subject line "March 11 Hearing - Animal Identification Programs." (Don't change the subject line.)
Hello,
I am a consumer of sustainable foods and friend to many small farmers who fear that NAIS will put them out of business. After reading all of the hearing testimony, it seems to me that the primary motivation behind NAIS is for our export markets.
It seems that NAIS is detracting from attention on prevention, inspection, and testing for animal disease, and instead using our resources for tracking, which is only good AFTER we have disease already here. I'd prefer to see us prioritize on prevention FIRST (for example, keeping all downer cows out of livestock feed) and then work on testing (like testing > 0.1% of cows for BSE). Without doing those two things first, in the case of BSE, it seems like we would be allowing a problem to form and grow for a long time before we would discover it and then use an animal ID system to track down the sick animals.
If a national animal ID system IS in fact necessary for our export markets, why can't we make it mandatory for farmers who export live animals or animal products but truly voluntary for all others. The problem is that there are two food systems in this country - the industrialized, mainstream one, and the small, sustainable local one - but we are making policy that only works for the mainstream system. Those of us who are trying to improve our health and our safety (not to mention our environment and our communities) by opting out of the industrialized system and buying from local farmers should not be punished with one-size-fits-all laws. It seems to me that if NAIS is to benefit an export market, then we are putting the needs of the international community above the needs of U.S. citizens and I find that unacceptable.
Yesterday I posted about the first three to testify at the NAIS hearing in the House Ag Committee - the USDA, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, and R-CALF. Here's the next bunch: the National Milk Producers Federation, the American Veterinary Medicine Association, and representatives from Australia and Canada speaking about their versions of NAIS. Unfortunately, the House Ag Committee site does not offer anything that was said by the National Pork Producers Council.
If you are unfamiliar with NAIS, I recommend you start by checking out the New York Times op ed published on it this week. And go here to send the government a piece of your mind. (I'd follow that up with an email to your representative in the House too!)
The House Ag Committee has posted the written testimony from today's NAIS hearing. Here's what was said by the first three speakers - one from the USDA, one from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, and one from R-CALF.
Rep. Peterson made news with a quote again (hat tip to Dave Murphy). This time for saying Obama's plan to cut farm subsidies "is a very stupid idea." (Last time, he was calling organic consumers "dumb." Maybe time to pick up an SAT study guide to expand your vocabulary, Rep. Peterson?)
As for Obama's idea... it's stupid, and it isn't. The idea to take away direct payments from rich farmers? Good idea. The specific way Obama wants to do it? Stupid idea. (This is just KILLING me that I am agreeing with Collin Peterson!)
Farmers get payments in a few different ways. One way is a subsidy when prices fall below what the government thinks is fair. One way is a payment for conservation practices. The third way - and the way we're talking about - is a "direct payment." Direct payments don't go to everybody, but in general if you've been growing corn (or any commodity) on your land for years and years, you'll get a check automatically every year that is based on a running average of your past yield and the crop you grow.
Now, if we're talking about taking away direct payments from a farmer who makes $500,000 in NET INCOME (revenues less costs), I'd be OK with that. I'd be thrilled actually. What are we doing giving government payments to a guy making $500,000? But that's not what Obama's talking about if I'm understanding things right.
What Obama wants to do is cut off the direct payments from anyone who makes more than $500,000 in gross sales. So you sell over $500k of corn and we take away your payments - even if you have $600k in costs? How's that fair? Or helpful? Now you've got one more farmer who can't afford to continue farming. How's that good for any of us? We need farmers or else we won't have any more food.
Here's where I have a hunch Sen. Peterson and I differ. He'd probably say that my idea to cut off direct payments from farmers who are making a lot in NET INCOME "stupid" too. After all, he already called me "dumb" for buying organic food.
Today the House Ag Committee is having a hearing on NAIS - the National Animal ID System. NAIS itself is very bad, and the panel line-up of those testifying is also very bad. The only bright spot on the agenda is R-CALF (the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, and a group that staunchly opposes NAIS).
Wednesday, March 11th - 10:00 a.m.
1300 Longworth House Office Building
Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry-Public Hearing.
RE: To review animal identification systems.
Panel I
* Dr. John R. Clifford, D.V.M., Deputy Administrator, Veterinary Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
Panel II
* Mr. Bill Nutt, President-Elect, Georgia Cattlemen's Association, on behalf of National Cattleman's Beef Association Cattle Health and Well-Being Committee, Cedartown, Georgia
* Dr. R.M. (Max) Thornsberry, D.V.M., President of the Board, R-CALF USA, Richland, Missouri
* Mr. Donald P. Butler, President, National Pork Producers Council, Clinton, North Carolina
* Dr. Karen Jordan, D.V.M., Owner, Large Animal Veterinary Services, Co-owner, Brush Creek Swiss Farms, on behalf of National Milk Producers Federation, Siler City, North Carolina
* Dr. W. Ron DeHaven, D.V.M., MBA, Chief Executive Officer, American Veterinary Medical Association, Schaumburg, Illinois
Panel III
* Dr. Rob Williams, Counsellor (Agriculture), Embassy of Australia, Washington, D.C.
o Accompanied by Mr. Dean Merrilees, Minister Counsellor (Agriculture), Embassy of Australia, Washington, D.C.
* Mr. Kerry St. Cyr, Executive Director, Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA), Calgary, Alberta, Canada
I'll do my best to cover this hearing on this site, but if anyone here wants to take a stab at it please do. There will be live streaming video on the web but I can't watch it due to my disability. The link is the same one I included above. I think someone I know will actually be there and if so, I'll get all the dirt from her if I can.
Collin Peterson (D-MN)
Collin is a 9th term Congressman from Minnesota's 7th district. In 2006, he was elected with 70% of the vote. Collin was born in Fargo, ND, on June 29, 1944. He is Lutheran, and his highest degree was a Bachelors from Moorehead St. University in 1966. He served in the North Dakota Army National Guard from 1963-1969. Before he was elected, he was an accountant. He is divorced.
Collin Peterson is important to us because he chairs the House Ag Committee. He had a LOT of power over this past farm bill. Unfortunately he's a "Bush Dog Dem" - a Dem who votes with Bush all the time. And he called people who buy organics "dumb." Thanks, Collin.
Contact Information DC: 202-225-2165 (phone); 202-225-1593 (fax)
District Offices: 218-847-5056 (Detroit Lakes); 218-253-4356 (Red Lake Falls); 320-235-1061 (Willmar); 507-537-2299 (Marshall); 320-269-8888 (Montevideo); 507-637-2270 (Redwood Falls)
Chief of Staff: Mark Brownell
Scheduler: Cherie Slayton
Legislative Director: Robin Goracke
Press Secretary: Allison Myhre
Buy an autographed copy of Recipe for America LVL Gear
"Too Big to Fail" T-Shirt
(details)
Support La Vida Locavore
Subscribe for $10/month:
One-Time Gift:
