EARTH DAY SUNDAY 2007 THEME: THE FOOD THAT SUSTAINS US

Our Daily Bread: Harvesters of Hope and Gardeners of Eden - A resource that explores putting the Spirit of God back into the life-giving acts of producing and consuming food. Includes background information, ideas for action, study questions for adults and youth, sermon starters, and a bulletin insert. The resource introduces faith-driven principles for a more just policy, and gives you an opportunity to put those principles into action by sending a message to your elected officials. Click here to learn more and to download "Our Daily Bread for free! Click here to register your Earth Day Sunday event with the Eco-Justice Network.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Ask Your Representatives to Support Funding for Conservation, Rural Development, and Nutrition

The Congressional Budget Office released baseline spending figures that are insufficient to meet the needs of farmers, ranchers, consumers, and the environment. During the next two weeks House and Senate Budget Committees are debating and deciding funding levels for the 2007 farm bill. Conservation and farmland protection, renewable energy, prosperous rural communities, urban centers with access to healthy foods and a real safety net for all farmers and ranchers are legitimate public benefits that deserve public investment. Urge your Member of Congress to speak to House and Senate leadership and Budget Committees about these unmet needs of agriculture. Take action today using this action alert from American Farmland Trust (a partner of the Eco-Justice Program).

New Voices Advocate for Change to the Farm Bill

The Farm and Food Policy Project (FFPP) released "Seeking Balance in U.S. Farm and Food Policy," a platform for broad reform in the 2007 farm bill debate. The FFPP is a diverse group of organizations, including the National Council of Churches, that seeks to articulate a bold new vision for U.S. farm and food policy and secure a brighter future for farmers and ranchers, for rural and urban communities, and for all of us who depend on a healthy food system. Read "Seeking Balance."(pdf)

Make Your Voice Heard

NCC staff has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill as a member of the Religious Working Group on the Farm Bill. So far, we have met with most members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees to introduce a faith-based principles statement on farm bill reform. The committees will be writing farm bill proposals in the next few months and it's important that the Senators and Representatives hear from their constituents. If your Senator or Representative is on an agriculture committee, contact Karen Galles at kgalles@ncccusa.org or 202/481.6943 to find out how your elected official responded to our farm bill principles, and for ideas of specific things to address with your representative. See if your representatives are on the Senate or House Agriculture Committee.

INDUSTRIALIZED AGRICULTURE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO COMMUNITY WELL-BEING

A 2006 report by Curtis Stofferahn, a rural sociology professor at the University of North Dakota found that 46 of 56 studies examined found detrimental effects associated with industrialized farming. Communities where industrialized farming operations predominate show "greater income inequality, higher unemployment rates, and lower job growth rates than communities where family-sized operations predominate." There were also fewer churches, poorer quality public services, and decreased local retail trade in industrial farming communities. Read the full report (pdf). Read a one-page summary of the report (pdf).

FARM BILL 101 - Part 1

An ongoing series of brief articles to educate you on the basics of United States farm and food policy

The farm bill is not just a farm bill. It is a food bill. And its implications for delivering justice to God's people and creation are varied and far-reaching. The farm bill is a large piece of legislation that is re-written every 5-7 years. It currently has ten titles including commodity programs (subsidy payments), conservation, trade, nutrition, rural development, energy, and a few others. The two biggest parts of the farm bill that make of 75 percent of farm bill spending are nutrition and commodity programs. (The conservation program accounts for about 4 percent of farm bill spending.) The largest nutrition program is the food stamp program, which entitles those who meet the eligibility requirements (income of $17,170 or below for a family of 3 in 2007, among others) to a monthly allotment of money to spend on food. About 60% of those eligible claimed their benefits in 2004. In 2000, the program served 17.2 million people a month and cost $17.1 billion. The farm bill can deliver justice to hungry people by expanding eligibility requirement to cover more working poor people, and by increasing the value of benefits (currently $1 per person per day) to allow for an ample nutritious diet.

Commodity programs include the money that is paid directly to producers of certain crops to help them manage the risks inherent in farming, and to ensure that we have a steady and abundant food supply. Subsidized crops include wheat, corn, soybeans, grain sorghum, barley, oats, cotton, rice, and oilseeds. Three different payments make up the entire subsidy program. One, the direct payment, is based on historic yields regardless of current production. The other two are based on the market price and current production levels. Commodity payments directly supported just 39 percent of the nation's farms in 2003. The bulk of payments go to a small number of the largest farms. Some believe that this amounts to subsidizing farm consolidation and hastening the disappearance of moderately-sized farms. Commodity payments also have international ramifications - because they skew crop choice toward those crops that are covered by the program, the production tends to be higher than the domestic demand. The excess floods international markets with artificially cheap product, making it difficult for local farmers to compete. This issue has been a point of contention at the World Trade Organization for the United States.

Coming Up in Part 2 - Conservation Programs