EWG issued the following statement by Scott Faber, Vice President for Government Affairs, on the Senate's failure to pass Senator Gillibrand's amendment to reduce subsidies to crop insurance companies to restore proposed cuts to feeding assistance programs and to increase funding for the fresh fruit and vegetable snack program.

National leaders in food and farm policy have taken steps to form a new nonprofit organization that for the first time will hold lawmakers in Congress accountable for their votes on a broad range of issues, including food safety, farm subsidies, nutrition assistance, farm animal welfare, fisheries management, organic and local food, farm and food worker justice, and the impacts of food and farm policies on the environment.

For those of us lucky enough to sit down every day to healthy, nutritious meals, it’s easy to forget that millions of American families in the grip of the recession are struggling to put food on the table and often end up consuming cheap, heavily processed food that puts their health at risk.

Seventy leading chefs, authors, food policy experts, nutritionists, CEOs, and environment and health organizations sent an open letter to Members of Congress today urging lawmakers to reinvest federal farm and crop insurance subsidy dollars into programs that feed the hungry, protect the environment and promote the consumption of local, organic and healthy food.

Now that Senate floor action on the 2012 farm bill is looking likely in early June, food policy reformers are weighing in. Grist’s Food Editor, Twlight Greenway, quotes Steph Larsen at Nebraska’s Center for Rural Affairs on the need for urgency on the part of good food advocates: "Say it’s 6 p.m. on election night, or the top of the eighth inning. Of all the moments to walk away, is that the one to pick??"

Fruit and vegetable growers have historically been left out of agriculture policy, even though they provide foods that are vital for improving America’s nutrition and reducing the costly toll of diet-related diseases. The 2008 farm bill began to correct this misguided policy by providing modest but important gains for programs that promote the production, research and marketing of fruits, nuts and vegetables, known also as “specialty crops.”

Witnesses at a House agriculture subcommittee hearing today had various ideas for replacing the discredited “direct payment” farm subsidy system. They ranged from raising crop price guarantees to beefing up revenue and crop insurance programs, and all could cost billions more than current farm programs. Lawmakers shouldn’t swallow these proposals as “reform.”

Here’s a simple proposition to test whether the food movement can stand up to Big Ag.  We’re asking readers who care about providing healthier food to schoolchildren to take a stand by voting on our resolution - A Farm Bill for Healthy Kids:

Media in the heart of farm country continue to heap scorn on the Senate Agriculture Committee’s proposed farm bill. The Minneapolis Star Tribune’s editorial board had this to say today in piece titled, “Congress Should Rein in Crop Insurance:” The bill slashes at least $23 billion from some farm subsidies and other programs, meaning lawmakers are living up to their pledge to stop making direct payments to farmers for crops they don't grow.