Last week, NPR took a deeper look at the natural gas boom in the U.S. The special series, “The Fracking Boom: Missing Answers,” questions what the gas boom is doing to the air and water in communities where fracking has become a household name…
Breaking Exclusive
Farm Bill
An Environmental Working Group (EWG) analysis highlights the skewed priorities and gross inequities in federal spending under the nation’s most far-reaching food and farm legislation…
This report sends a strong message that doing what’s good for the environment and what’s good for industry economics are not mutually exclusive. The organic food processing industry is creating jobs, stimulating our economy and delivering the…
This year’s effort to renew America’s food and farm policy through the farm bill creates an opportunity for Congress to do more to support family farmers, protect the environment, encourage healthy diets and ensure better access to healthy food…
“The organic sector continues to grow as people vote with their dollars at markets across the country, but demand for this verified label outpaces supply,” said Brise Tencer of California Certified Organic Farmers. “Federal support for organic farmers…
Farm Bill Platform Reflects Urgent Needs of Farmers and Food Entrepreneurs
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
03-19-2012
“Slow job recovery, a rapidly aging farm population, accelerating erosion and nutrient pollution and atrophied regional food infrastructure can be viewed as a crisis or an opportunity,” said Prolman. “Done right, a new farm bill can…
Foreign Companies Paid Billions to Run U.S. Crop Insurance Program
Environmental Working Group
03-16-2012
Twenty insurance companies in Bermuda, Japan, Switzerland, Australia, Canada and the U.S. were paid $7.1 billion in U.S. taxpayer funds from 2007 to 2011 to sell American farmers crop insurance policies…
“We support a strong farm safety net in order to keep farmers on the land producing food for our country. However, a safety net is not complete if it creates long-term threats to farm productivity by incentivizing farming practices that jeopardize our soil…
American Farmland Trust (AFT) concurs with Secretary Tom Vilsack’s comments at the March 7 Senate Agriculture Committee hearing that there is a role for Farm Bill programs to support the fast-growing local and regional food production…
Farm Bill Offers Opportunity to Correct Our Unsustainable Food System
Union of Concerned Scientists
03-08-2012
In 2010, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) shelled out $5 billion to subsidize corn and soybean crops that are primarily used for processed foods and animal feed. The USDA offered only a fraction of this amount—about 7 percent…
As Congress continues work on the 2012 Farm Bill, farmers from California to New York have their livelihoods at stake as the programs they use and value face grave budget cuts in Congress. Gronski and others will offer a…
Local Food Receives Big Economic Boost from Federal Investments
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
02-29-2012
Dombalis describes Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food as “government at its best. Programs and services serving local and regional producers are scattered across USDA’s various agencies. The Know Your Farmer initiative…
643 Organizations Express Support for Conservation Title in the Farm Bill
The Nature Conservancy
02-28-2012
On Feb. 27, 643 organizations, representing tens of millions Americans, expressed strong support for the Conservation Title of the U.S. Farm Bill in a letter sent to Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee…
America’s Conservation Compact Is Eroding Despite Farmers’ Support
Environmental Working Group
02-27-2012
In the negotiations over a 2012 farm bill, agribusiness lobbyists are pushing their allies in Congress to gut the conservation compact entirely, with dire consequences for the environment and public health….
How Will Obama’s EPA Budget Proposal Affect Water Quality Programs?
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
02-20-2012
President Obama’s FY2013 EPA budget proposal targets nutrient pollution, sedimentation and loss of shoreline vegetation as major water quality concerns, with a focus on agriculture as a major contributor to water…
“No conservationist worthy of the name would accept the severe cuts being planned for conservation programs,” said EWG senior vice-president for agriculture and natural resources Craig Cox. “These programs provide significant…
“The fact is—clean energy and responsible environmental policy make good economic policy as well because they create jobs, while cutting energy and medical bills for American families…
Agriculture Committee Urges Congress to Pass Comprehensive Farm Bill
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
02-13-2012
Delaying a farm bill creates unnecessary uncertainty for people who receive nutrition assistance, for farmers making production and planting decisions, for food and farm businesses planning to grow, hire employees…
In its “Path to the 2012 Farm Bill” series, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) gets into the details of the 2012 Farm Bill debate. This first post in the series discusses the major factors influencing…
On Jan. 24, Michigan Senator Stabenow heard from hundreds of Michigan citizens calling for reform on the Farm Bill. From Traverse City to Battle Creek to Ann Arbor to Detroit, food activists across the state generated hundreds of phone calls to U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow…
Food & Water Watch is proud to announce its Fair Farm Bill Campaign meetings in Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo…
Given all the defeats and set-backs this year due to powerful food industry lobbying, the good food movement should by now be collectively shouting—I am mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore…
There’s never a shortage of interesting and incendiary stories about food issues to choose from at the end of the year. This year is no exception. As we continue to build our campaign to improve the Farm Bill…
food
Program Rewards Farmers and Ranchers for Environmental Stewardship
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
12-20-2011
The cutoff date for farmers and ranchers to apply to participate in the 2012 sign-up for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) is Jan. 13, 2012. The Natural Resources Conservation Service…
With last month’s death of the congressional Super Committee, so too died the 2011 Food and Farm Bill proposal that was folded into those fast-track talks. So what happens next…
