The Farm Bill – who will lose?

annieb — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:46:00 +0000

Our current food system is broken, and it didn’t happen by accident. Decades of bad food policy designed to benefit agribusinesses and mega-farms, combined with unchecked corporate mergers, have wreaked havoc on family farmers, public health and rural communities.

The Farm Bill is up for reauthorization in 2012, and if we can implement certain changes, we can create a healthy food system for everyone.

Yes, folks – seems like we just did this yesterday – but…

The Farm Bill is up again! This time Monsanto & gang are pinning our Legislature to the wall…who will win? The small farmer & the food eater?

the fat cats?

Take a look at the…fun & enlightening video on You Tube…

We gotta get this information out there…pass it on…see more at Food & Water Watch

SMALL FARMS ARE MORE PRODUCTIVE AND PROFITABLE

annieb — Thu, 22 May 2008 22:10:48 +0000

Let’s take another look at small farms. The localization of our food supply will offer many positive opportunities to our youth, to our sense of place & community, and also to the quality of health and well being we each take from our daily meals.

American agriculture is mired in a mind-set that relies on capital, chemistry and machines. Food production is dependent on oil, in the form of fertilizers and pesticides, in the distances produce travels from farm to plate and in the energy it takes to process it.

For decades, environmentalists and small farmers have claimed that this is several kinds of madness. But industrial agriculture has simply responded that if we’re feeding more people more cheaply using less land, how terrible can our food system be?

Now that argument no longer holds true. With the price of oil at more than $120 a barrel (up from less than $30 for most of the last 50 years), small and midsize nonpolluting farms, the ones growing the healthiest and best-tasting food, are gaining a competitive advantage. They aren’t as reliant on oil, because they use fewer large machines and less pesticide and fertilizer.

A 1,000 acre U.S. corporate farm growing genetically engineered crops nets an average of $39 an acre.
In contrast, a four-acre family farm nets, on average, $1,400 per acre.
Small organic farms are proving to be even more profitable. With oil prices on the rise, growing food without petroleum-based pesticides/fertilizers, and delivering that food to local markets will quickly prove to be the most affordable food available.

I love eating the fresh greens that come in my weekly CSA basket, everything was just picked, and is organic and as fresh as possible. Why not look online for your local Farmer’s Market or CSA ( Community Supported Agriculture) and start getting the best food for your family and for your money right now!

Source: Solving the Food, Health, & Energy Crisis: Local & Organic Production on Smaller Farms

* Change We Can Stomach
By DAN BARBER
The New York Times, May 11, 2008
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_12216.cfm

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The Farm Bill – who will lose?

SMALL FARMS ARE MORE PRODUCTIVE AND PROFITABLE