Stop the Secret Farm Bill
Why you should care about the farm bill
The farm bill matters to you if you care what you and your kids eat, how government policies affect the cost and availability of healthy, chemical-free food and how clean your drinking water is.
Its three most important sections deal with:
- Support programs for farmers who grow grains.
- Provide money and technical help to farmers to protect soil, water and wildlife.
- Fund the all-important nutrition and feeding programs for low-income Americans, especially women, children and infants.
It’s a huge piece of legislation that drives federal spending and policies on agriculture, nutrition and conservation programs, and it’s usually debated and passed every five years. It was due to come up for renewal in 2012, but industrial agriculture interests and their powerful allies in Congress are trying to circumvent open debate and get the bill they want passed as part of the “Super Committee” plan for cutting the federal deficit.