food and farm bill

by Mark Dunlea
1/10/12

The Food and Farm Bill is up for renewal, something that occurs about once every five years. The Farm Bill is how the federal government sets overall food and agricultural policy for the country…to a great extent it determines what we eat and how it is produced. Until recently, the Farm Bill was on a fast track, slated to be passed in December as part of the late Super Committee process. Leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, arguing that they understood the needs of rhe farming community, undertook proposing $23 billion in Farm Bill Ag budget cuts over ten years to help meet the nation’s deficit reduction goals.

Farmers, community groups, researchers, government and UN partners gathered Monday April 6th 2009 to address the Global Food Crisis and the Right to Food. Read NYC community gardener Ceci Charles-King's closing statement below and learn more about the UN Commission on Sustainable Development by visiting www.sustainablefoodmonitor.org. You can also watch a recorded video from the UN meeting on utube .

When: World Food Day, Thursday, October 16th, 2008 at 7 PM

Where: Great Hall of Cooper Union, 7 E. 7th Street (at 3rd Ave.), New York City Cost: Free (suggested donation at the door)

RSVP (encouraged): whyevents@whyhunger.org. Seating is first come, first served.

As U.S. food pantries face long lines and empty shelves while food protests rock the globe, it is clear that we are in the midst of a food crisis at home and abroad. The crisis is long in the making, yet even as it hits both headlines and wallets, it has been largely ignored by the current administration and the presidential candidates. In response, food, farm, labor, and justice organizations from across the US are joining together to call on our leaders to address the roots of the problem.