As comfortable residents of a sprawling suburbia, what on earth does the US Farm Bill have to do with us? More than you can imagine, as it turns out. The Government's food policies are far-reaching and directly affect the food choices that are available to us. The Farm Bill, which Congress votes on roughly every 5 years, is coming up for a vote in 2012. You can be certain that lobbyists are hard at work making sure that policies and subsidies continue to benefit their multi-billion dollar agribusiness clients for whom the value of food is just another commodity to be measured on a financial statement.
What's needed is a counterbalance in support of local/sustainable/organic/small-scale farming. We can make our voices heard by demanding farm policies that help those farmers who engage in sustainable farming practices. These methods produce tastier, healthier food while protecting our water, air and land. It's also good for local economies and jobs. Here's a concise description of the Farm Bill.
A simple way to get involved is to go to the Union of Concerned Scientists webpage and tell your Congress members to support farmer's markets and local food initiatives.
