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Top Ten Food and Farm Stories of 2011
Advocates of healthy food and farm policy reform have had a lot of success in 2011. For starters, the secret farm bill died after lawmakers spent many weeks politicking behind closed doors, and two of the three wasteful ethanol supports are on their way out, and so might be those lavish direct payments that go to farmers regardless of need. There is still a lot of work... Continue Reading...
Corn Growers: Stuck in the Sandbox
When there’s trouble in the sandbox, kids are likely to point at each other and say, “He did it.” As we get older, most of us mature to the point where we’re able to accept responsibility for the problems we cause and say, “I’ll fix it.” Not so the corn growers. When it comes to the massive problem of nitrogen pollution in the Mississippi River basin, the big... Continue Reading...
Why The Farm Bill Matters
Healthy Food – Healthy Land – Healthy People What is the farm bill? It’s a huge and comprehensive piece of legislation that drives federal spending and policies on agriculture, nutrition and conservation programs. In just one year – 2010 – farm bill programs spent $96.3 billion. How those dollars are used makes a big difference to our health and the environment. The... Continue Reading...
Food Deserts Boast Big Supporters, Funding Fizzles
When was the last time a big city mayor rode into office making “food deserts” one of his campaign issues? That’s just what new Chicago Mayor (and former White House Chief of Staff) Rahm Emanuel did. And he has wasted no time following through – hosting a Food Desert Summit within a month of taking office. The mayor met with executives of grocery chains this month... Continue Reading...
