UPDATE: Important if you're sending a comment on closing farm subsidy loophole

by: desmoinesdem

Mon Apr 06, 2009 at 12:55:16 PM PDT

Please send your comments to: Dan McGlynn via Mara Villegas at: mara.villegas@wdc.usda.gov
[...]
At this point you can do 1 of 3 things:

1. You can resend your comments to mara.villegas@wdc.usda.gov
2. Fax the letter in at: (202) 690-2130
3. Go to Regulation.gov and send your letter in using that website form.

http://www.regulations.gov/fdm...

If you go to Regulations.gov please realize that it is a several step process in order to submit your comments.

We have provided the proper steps to follow on our website.

http://www.fooddemocracynow.or...

Thanks again for all you do, we appreciate your continued efforts on this important subject.

Mr. rossl goes to Washington

by: rossl

Sat Mar 28, 2009 at 22:13:54 PM PDT

It was a great trip.  I feel like I actually do have a bit of power in this corrupt, mangled political system of ours, and I'd love to tell you why.

Vilsack And Cookie Monster Meet, Differ Over Nutritional Value of Cookies

by: Jill Richardson

Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 08:00:00 AM PDT

More on what Vilsack's been up to below...

Kids vs. Farmers? No! I Say It's Everyone Vs. Greedy, Immoral Corporations

by: Jill Richardson

Tue Mar 10, 2009 at 14:51:03 PM PDT

"We will do our best to frame this discussion..so that people understand: 30 million children, 90,000 farmers...It is a tough choice, but it's a choice that folks are going to have to make."

But is that really the question? Kids vs. Farmers? Even if the USDA has a finite budget and money for one program means money taken from somewhere else, let's consider the overall federal budget:

If we need more money for farmers or kids, let's take it from the bloated Pentagon budget instead of pitting farmers and kids against one another. Surely there's a Cold War-era obsolete defense program somewhere we could cut.

But beyond that, both kids and farmers are screwed by the very same companies. All the usual suspects - ADM, Cargill, ConAgra, Tyson, Monsanto, etc.

Progressive food policies

by: Ca-48 Steve Young

Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 10:11:34 AM PDT

A fundamental responsibility of our government is to protect the common good.  We take for granted, clean drinking water, protection of our national parks, and drug safety.  While the government falls short in all these areas, Americans have real expectations of their government.

Why don't our expectations extend to food?  I don't mean food safety (such as preventing the conditions described in "The Jungle" that prompted creation of the FDA), I am talking about government support of bad food.  An example -- government subsidies for "commodity corn."  Commodity Corn is inedible but is the raw material in processed foods.  The corn is turned into a variety of products like High-fructose corn syrup, or fed to livestock in manufacturing line slaughterhouses.  

Add the negative impacts of agribusiness -- pesticide runoff in our water systems, the epidemic of obesity, diabetes, and other food sourced diseases, fertilizer contamination of our air, water and food, and the problems come into sharp focus.

I advocate a "Healthy Food Initiative" that will change the paradigm in America.  Imagine creating an infrastructure for a healthy, affordable food system by shifting massive subsidies from the pockets of Agribusiness to a system that rewards America's farmers, ranchers, fisherman, and others who feed us, for growing healthy food while protecting our environment.  We can do this with tax credits for farmers who reduce the use of pesticides and herbicides.  We can promote family farm ownership.  We can invest in community garden areas in urban areas.  These are some possibilities to change our food future.

Imagine a food future where food contributes to America's greatness, rather than just our GNP.  Imagine a food future that promotes healthy life styles and a clean environment.  Imagine a food future where environmental footprints is more important than shelf space foot prints for packaged food.  Imagine a food future where children learn to select foods for their value, not their sugary cartoon images.  It is time to stop imagining.  It is time to make this imagination of a food future a present reality.  It is time to be the change we want to be.  I feel that food is our future -- healthy food is our birthright.  Won't you join me in supporting my "Healthy Food Initiative"?  It is time for a fresh start.  It is time for healthy food.

Steve Young, Democrat for Congress, [Ca-48]
"For a fresh start"

Contribute to the Healthy Food Initiative.

Beware of Suspect Bedfellows When Battling the Food Crisis!

by: Farm Bill Girl

Thu Jul 24, 2008 at 21:47:38 PM PDT

Franklin Roosevelt was smarter than Earl Butz.

by: Jonathan Rees

Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 07:44:11 AM PDT