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The Farm Bill, The Food System, and What You Can Do To Make It Better |
November 21, 2007
Introduction to the 2007 Farm Bill: Where it Stands, or Sits, Now
Guest Blog by Jessie Woletz
Psst. Did you hear? There is, or recently was, a big important discussion going on in the Senate and House of Representatives. The decisions they make will greatly determine the direction of the nation’s food system for the next 5 years. The 2007 Farm Bill, just last week, was being hashed out on the Senate floor. Unfortunately, the Farm Bill discussions are stalled for now because of what is being called a “showdown” between Republicans and Democrats.
A motion was filed by Senate Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) on Wednesday to force a cloture vote Friday. Cloture is a procedural measure that would force a vote on the bill, which made sense to Reid given the limited timeframe to pass the new Farm Bill before the new year. Reid said, “If cloture is approved Friday, the Senate will have time to approve its version of the farm bill and then work together with the U.S. House of Representatives to form a unified piece of legislation before the end of the year”. (Farm Policy, Nov.14th)
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On-Farm Energy Innovations in Action |
November 20, 2007
2007 ROC Planning Fellow Jenny Lester Moffit's walnut farm is in the news for its innovations in sustainable on-farm energy production. Read the recent front page article from The Vacaville Reporter about Dixion Ridge Farms efforts to make the farm completely energy self sufficient with new on-farm energy solutions.
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Cloned Food Poised to Enter U.S. Food Supply |
November 15, 2007
This article from Europes Food Production Daily tracks the possibility of cloned food entering the US food supply by the end of this year. Last December, the FDA issued draft guidance on allowing meat and milk from cloned cows into the food chain.
How soon that action is taken will depend upon amendment 3524 in currently debated 2007 Farm Bill. This amendment calls for studies that would evaluate the health effects of allowing the commercialization of milk and meat from cloned animals.
Read the full article here.
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American Planning Association Policy Guide on Community and Regional Food Planning |
November 13, 2007
Check out the American Planning Associations new Policy Guide on Community and Regional Food Planning.
Many converging factors explain the heightened awareness among planners that the food system is indeed significant in relation to planning:
- Recognition that food system activities take up a significant amount of urban and regional land
- Awareness that planners can play a role to help reduce the rising incidence of hunger on the one hand, and obesity on the other
- Understanding that the food system represents an important part of community and regional economies
- Awareness that the food Americans eat takes a considerable amount of fossil fuel energy to produce, process, transport, and dispose of
- Understanding that farmland in metropolitan areas, and therefore the capacity to produce food for local and regional markets, is being lost at a strong pace
- Understanding that pollution of ground and surface water, caused by the overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture adversely affects drinking water supplies
- Awareness that access to healthy foods in low-income areas is an increasing problem for which urban agriculture can offer an important solution
- Recognition that many benefits emerge from stronger community and regional food systems
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